port-royal dying in time
Though the album’s starkly snowy cover might have something to do with it, Genoa’s port-royal […]

Though the album’s starkly snowy cover might have something to do with it, Genoa’s port-royal does evoke a crystalline, wintery quality on its third full-length. High-frequency washes, plaintive delayed guitars, and tinkling synths abound amidst rhythm structures that evoke Squarepusher and Aphex Twin. The icy sheen makes the listening process feel a bit like a slalom ride down Mont Blanc, the apex coming towards the album’s midpoint with the M83-like glassiness of “I Used to Be Sad.” Other tracks, like “Susy: Blue East Fading,” recall Stars of the Lid, but with a nice shuffle behind the synth swells. If one can stand its brilliant cold without shivering, dying in time might be one of the most fulfilling records of the year.