purity ring

Listening to Purity Ring’s panoramic synth-pop has always felt a bit like stepping into a futuristic fantasyland, so it makes perfect sense that Megan James and Corin Roddick would envision their self-titled fourth album as the soundtrack to a Final Fantasy-style RPG that exists only in their own minds. But while purity ring comes loaded with fleet-footed, breakbeat-driven bops (“many lives”, “between you and shadows”) ideal for whipping through levels at warp speed and slaying enemies with militaristic precision, the album’s more manic tracks flow naturally into meditative soundscapes (“part ii”, “mistral”) that reflect the more exploratory aspects of gaming, where you’re content to just wander through and marvel at the digital vistas around you. And even if you’re not a headset-sporting joystick jockey, there’s no resisting the emotional undertow of “imanocean”, where James turns off the pitch-shifting vocal filters and Roddick eases off the electro-freakery to deliver an acoustic-driven, heart-pumping indie-pop anthem.