The involvement of
Prins Thomas,
Serena Maneesh's
Emil Nikolaisen, and the largely electronic imprint Smalltown Supersound in a set of songs by a former Vogue model suggests any number of musical directions, yet
Carmen Villain's debut Sleeper defies almost any expectations listeners might have. The former single "Lifeissin" recalls the intimate heartache of moody singer/songwriters like
Cat Power with its yearning close harmonies, but the trippy interlude midway through whisks it far away from familiar territory -- and that is the most straightforward song here. Throughout the rest of Sleeper,
Villain delivers what could be called fever dream-pop: these songs take surreal twists and turns as their characters try to escape deep-seated fears, only to run straight into them. Whether it's the sweetly narcotic "Two Towns" or "Made a Shell"'s psych rock, the contrast between
Villain's aloof vocals and the wild sonics around her is fascinating, evoking Tender Buttons-era
Broadcast or the harrowing beauty of
Charlotte Gainsbourg's IRM.
Villain is unafraid of taking listeners on very dark trips made all the more disturbing because of her detachment, as on "How Much," where an icy melody belies her murderous words, or on "Dreamo," where the way she takes down everyone in her path ("His name is Billy and he don't believe in magic/Her name is Laura/She's counting all her money") is undeniably compelling. With
Thomas and
Nikolaisen's help,
Villain crafts sounds that are psychedelic in the truest and most expressive sense of the term, heightening her songs' emotional revelations in their shifting layers. "Easy" bangs down the doors of perception, beginning with bitter unease and then unfolding into something more complicated and churning as
Villain explores the difference between dreaming and merely sleeping. Later, she does a 180 on "Kingwoman," where resplendent guitars and percussion propel the song into triumphant, tropical psych pop. An exciting debut, Sleeper is a rawer, deeper album than might have been expected, full of music that's more daring and more rewarding than the work of many artists without the baggage attached to
Villain's background. ~ Heather Phares