EXITMUSIC: PASSAGE

GENRE | ARSENIC POP
VERDICT | IT FEELS GOOD TO FEEL BAD
LABEL | SECRETLY CANADIAN
RELEASE | 5.22.12
WEAREEXITMUSIC.COM

Passage, the debut from Brooklyn duo Exitmusic, doesn’t waste much time. A sensitive piano intro accompanied by a breathy chorus of “oohs” only lasts a minute before singer Aleksa Palladino climbs down from her ethereal perch to splash around in rippling puddles of percussion and belt out a soaring, spine-tingling chorus. The rest of the album follows suit, as Exitmusic carves a muddy path through a thorny landscape that is nevertheless breathtaking in its beauty.

Much has been made of Palladino’s voice, and for good reason. The singer has such natural magnetism that even the most angst-ridden lyrics, when delivered in her husky, vibrating alto, come off without seeming absurd.

Palladino and bandmate (and husband) Devon Church have a penchant for the macabre. Luckily, Passage is buoyed by propulsive dance beats and glittering, pop-inflected arrangements. It might be overwhelming if it wasn’t such a strange pleasure to lose yourself in Exitmusic’s disquieting ruminations.

EXITMUSIC

MON 6.25.12
T.T. THE BEAR’S
10 BROOKLINE ST.
CAMBRIDGE
8:30PM/18+/$10
617.492.0082
@TTTHEBEARS
TTTHEBEARS.COM