Holly Herndon, Proto
[4AD, May 10]
Blame it on pop culture depictions of rogue machines, but we tend to view artificial intelligence, like any unknown, with fear. “That’s one of the biggest problems of AI; it’s this kind of opaque, black box technology,” Holly Herndon recently told The Muse. Which is why the avant-pop composer aims, on third LP Proto, to capture the creation and collaborative potential of the technology—to expose its very human, rudimentary inner workings. To accomplish that, Herndon primarily trained her “AI baby,” Spawn, on our most primal instrument: the voice. Proto is saturated with choral arrangements inspired by religious gatherings and communal singing traditions; they call up Appalachian and Bulgarian song (“Frontier,” “Canaan”), among others, but also feel new, emphasizing the universality of these practices. There’s inevitably a lot of process to Proto, but Herndon makes it highly enjoyable to witness, in both exploratory moments like “Godmother” and poppier ones like “Eternal,” with its vaulted harmonies and heavy beats. All together, it’s further proof that, even in electronic’s most progressive spheres, Herndon dares go where few others will. [Kelsey J. Waite]
Versus, Ex Nihilo
[Ernest Jenning Record Co., May 3]
Ex Nihilo, the first Versus release since 2010’s superb LP On The Ones And Threes, finds the band in a reflective mood. The title Ex Nihilo literally means “out of nothing,” and this EP elliptically addresses creation and divinity with equal parts doubt and faith. “Invisible Love” exhibits the hallmarks of the classic Versus sound, one deeply evocative of the halcyon days of ’90s indie rock it played a massive role in defining—dirty-silver surging guitars crashing with reckless abandon as guitarist-singer Richard Baluyut’s and bassist-singer Fontaine Toups’ vocals gorgeously bleed together. “Gravity (Version)” is the record’s emotional apex, a dub/funk cousin to Wire’s “Used To,” deadly serious as Baluyut contemplates, “What is left behind when the spirit’s gone?” This conundrum is never reconciled, but to paraphrase from Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness Of Being, the only truly serious questions are the ones with no answers. Versus parse such ontological quandaries with childlike wonder throughout Ex Nihilo, suggesting that whatever comes after our spirits leave our bodies, it’ll be a beautiful surprise, even if it’s nothing. [John Everhart]