Romaplasm

Album review

Prior to the release of Romaplasm, Will Wiesenfeld provided the theme song to a dating simulation video game, and a similar sense of fantasy, escapism and romance informs Baths' third album. On the surface, this is easily the project's prettiest and most sensual-sounding work yet, full of glistening electro-pop that calls to mind the Postal Service or Vespertine-era Björk. "Yeoman"'s rippling beats and swooning lyrics ("Come kiss me swell/You're feeling like a buoyant waltz") begin the album's romantic journey, which transforms into an erotic fairy tale as a pair of lovers steal away on "Abscond." The breathy vocals and lush arrangements on songs like these feel like the polar opposite of the catharsis Wiesenfeld offered on Obsidian and the Ocean Death EP, but as Romaplasm progresses, he balances its sweet sounds with soul-baring. He does so most movingly on the meditative "Coitus" and "Human Bog," where he explores self-hatred ("I'm queer in a way that fails me … I'm not enough of anything") and how it transfers from one generation to the next. Elsewhere, the lighter touch he uses on Romaplasm allows him to confront his demons to hyperkinetic synths and beats that could be a soundtrack for a video game on "Adam Copies," and muse about the "subtle hell" of his exes' childhoods on the deceptively frothy "Out." By the time the whole-hearted anthem "Broadback" brings the album to a close, it's clear that its mix of light and shadow is much more than a retreat. In its own way, Romaplasm is just as rich as Baths' other albums, and the tension between its fantasy world and real-life concerns make for fascinating listening.
© Heather Phares /TiVo