Balmorhea

With every Balmorhea release the mystery grows, as does our relationship with the band's music. For this single, the band shakes things up, revealing two new sides of themselves as they explore new sounds, textures, and instruments. In just over three minutes, "Candor"s polyrhythmic marimbas, glistening electric guitar, and haunting operatic vocals reveal something dark and otherworldly. "Clamor" is ecstatic with its persistent piano propulsion, electrifying bass, and bombastic drums. If "Candor" is a tense and foggy dream, lost in a forest, beguiled by the angelic siren overhead, "Clamor" is the heart-pounding shamanistic wake-up call.
With these two tracks the band delivers something uniquely "Balmorhea" without pandering to expectations, or selfishly indulging in alienating experimentalism. Whether these tracks are a detour or simply giving us a preview of the band's new sound, doesn't matter. It's enough to just watch the band grow in new directions and exceed our expectations. Fresh, exciting, and inspired, Candor/Clamor reminds us why we fell in love with Balmorhea's music in the first place.