plvs vltra: parthenon

Spectrum Spools is pleased to release the debut album by veteran musician Toko Yasuda's Plvs Vltra project. Toko has been working for years already in established pop acts such as Enon, Blonde Redhead and now touring with St. Vincent handling synthesizer duties for live events. In all her years of songcraft there have been sparse, if any solo output, until now. Parthenon is a sugar-sweet album of catchy pop songs, crafted with expert precision and outstanding composition logic. Everything is locked in in a way that seems at once like clockwork, and also somehow very free. As if Alice Coltrane's Universal Consciousness was sent into the future to be reimagined as an electronic pop record. Most of the album's focus lies on the glowing, ethereal voice that is unmistakably exclusive to Yasuda. Swirling, fine-tuned electronic washes and collaged clouds of ambiance swirl and hover around these mega-catchy tunes giving them a fantastic depth which commands attention and repeat visits. Yasuda's songcraft here is in peak form as well, with ultra-catchy hooks and addictive melodies that have been dialed in to perfection over the many years of making music. One of the most brilliant facets of Parthenon is the anti-genre omniverse vibe, where all borders and boundaries set to confine music to a general one-word descriptor are shattered. "Pop" is a word abused to catch-all, and like any great, well-thought album, Parthenon refuses to be pinned down. Here is your summer jam! Lovingly mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates and Mastering.