Rebecca Molina has accomplished something quite remarkable: She has debuted with an EP that is among the strongest I’ve ever heard in the world of modern synthpop.
The six songs that make up Corpus are quirky and fun, with some unexpected twists and turns, delightful arrangements and polished production.
Case in point is the second song on the album, Are They Gold? It opens with a sparse electric guitar riff, punctuated by an atonal pluck. This sparse, peculiar arrangement is soon joined by a simple synth riff. From there, the song expands into a bouncy melody, which is punctuated by a few well-chosen quirky sound effects.
Molina’s style is about just enough, never too much. This gives her songs a remarkable lightness, and makes them memorable ear bugs that will play in your head for hours after listening to them.
Another example is the bubbly Hey Girl, which opens with Molina singing harmony with herself. With that, the song launches into a propulsive tribal rhythm, underpinned by a guitar riff and bass synth. This song is all about vocal harmony and rhythm. With a name like Hey Girl, this track could have easily veered into twee pop song territory. But thankfully, it avoids this fate and stands on its own as a very strong uptempo synthpop track.
Meat Monster features Molina’s soaring, expressive voice, blended with a synth and drum arrangement that sounds surprisingly epic despite its sparseness.
At the end of this six song set, I found myself wishing and hoping that there was more. But alas, at least for now, there’s not. But I have high hopes for whatever is next from this talented Copenhagen-based artist!
If you ask me to describe what Molina’s music sounds like, it’s hard to compare it to any other synthpop artist. She has succeeded in creating her own unique sound that defies categorization. All I can tell you is that Corpus is a must listen for any serious synthpop fan.
I highly recommend it!
