Chromatics‘s Adam Miller has announced his new EP Illusion Pool, will be released on November 10. In light of the upcoming new album, the artist has shared he presents two singles “Illusion Pool” and “Everybody’s Been Burned,” which is a stark and cinematic cover of The Byrds’s classic music.
Gloria Steinem once wrote that “without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities.” The fervency of possibilities is palpable on Illusion Pool.
The release consolidates all of Miller’s prior art: The Durutti Column and Michael Rother inspired guitar meditations, the presence of another vocalist Hannah Lew of Cold Beat and Grass Widow and the use of vocoded vocal treatments in the recording process.
Produced and recorded by collaborator Mikal Oor and Miller in their home studios and mixed by Daniel Knowles, the EP features The Cure’s Lol Tolhurst playing drums on the title track and on“Everybody’s Been Burned.”
In the press release Miller shares his thoughts about his upcoming album.
“As I was working on Gateway, I had reached a point where I never wanted to write or hear music with vocals or drums ever again, but little by little every time I picked up my guitar, melodies, little bits of songs, and lyrics would keep on revealing themselves to me . It’s been invigorating to revisit these sketches from over the years. In the past, whenever I hit a wall with something, I would usually drop the idea and forget about it, but I’ve loved being able to pick up these ideas from where I left them with a completely different perspective.”
The musician adds: “Then I sang on Chromatics songs, I hated my voice. I would endlessly explore ways in which I could mask it behind a fortress of effects. But over the past few years, I’ve finally learned to embrace my natural voice. It’s as if my fear of my voice vanished over the past few years. Now it feels exhilarating to be so exposed.”
“Illusion Pool” is a fantastic ditty by how the instrumentation sizzles the air with catchy electronic pop vibes while the vocal performances serenades the ears with bittersweet melody and harmony.
As for “Everybody’s Been Burned,” the song is lovely by how the instrumentation shakes the background with dark and vibrant pop while the powerful vocal performance fills the air with bittersweet sound.
Illusion Pool EP Tracklist
1. Illusion Pool
2. Everybody’s Been Burned
3. Camera
4. Blood on the Moon
5. Vincent