Lorelle Meets The Obsolete 
Long due for greater acclaim, it seems that Mexican duo Lorelle Meets The Obsolete are finally finding a few more heads to dive into their shadow pop universe. On Balance they achieve just that, a more even keel between their love of heavy atmospherics mixed with gauzy blasts of noise and the dream pop core that finds singer Lorena Quintanilla soaring above the din with a clarity she’s rarely found on previous albums. Where in the past they’ve taken the My Bloody Valentine approach to noise first and transparency second, now the duo have pursued a way to let the listener into their world, and find a bit more to chew on lyrically than they had previously. The effect doesn’t loosen their hold on noise-pop as a weapon of bracing tension. They still know how to blow the hair back off the skull when needed, but now its nice to trace the finer details of some of their songs and listen to Quintanilla shine in her role as an essential draw to the band’s sound.
The record brings on a handful of technical assistance that’s no slouch these days, Cooper Crain (Cave, Bitchin’ Bajas) mixed the record and his drone driven touch isn’t lost on the outcome. Everybody’s go-to mastering engineer, Mikey Young, put his touch on the finer points and I’ve never let Mikey steer me wrong, though any reader of RSTB should be far more than familiar with my love of LMTO by now. The album’s real strong point comes in embracing the musicianship and craft under the bombast of amp scorched shoegaze, Krautrock locked rhythm burn or psychedelic melt. They rope in newer elements; post-punk keys, delicate atmospheres, hell even strums seem to poke their way through the haze on “Waves Over Shadows”. The band still doesn’t embrace what I’d call a hook, and I mean that in a very complimentary way. Its not their place to work an earworm into your head, its their place to infect your very being and radiate from the inside out like a third-degree sunburn. They’ve softened the focus for those who can’t fully delve into the dosed and diced side of the spectrum, but they’re secretly softening those listeners up for full on soul-melt down the line. It’s truly the band finding a balance and showing that they’ve got more to offer than just sonic assault.
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