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December 22, 2024


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Ilya
Poise is the Greater Architect (Second Nature Records)

By: Scott D. Lewis

Okay, so here's an album you can judge by its cover. Ilya's debut full-length is adorned with a slightly murky image of a woman cradling some eggs in the fold of her up-turned dress. It's kind of disturbing, kind of spooky, kind of strange, yet somehow sexy...just like the music inside. Centered around the gossamer voice of Blanca Rojas, Ilya's music could best be described as "esoteric trip-hop." The majority of this curious gem's ten tracks are ethereal, delicate passages of music, lead by emotive piano parts, smeared sound and aching string sections. At other moments, all manners of music are pieced together like a brilliant schizophrenic's collage project, at times sounding chaotic, but always evidencing a sophisticated sense of order. Blanketing each tact is Rojas and her street-wise Cocteau Twins singing. This is what PJ Harvey would sound like singing in her sleep or maybe what the Cranes would sound like with a delicious hangover. Regardless of how one might describe this album, and that's a tough task, it's a piece of real art that leaves the listener wanting more and more.
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