Tom Krell has always used noise evocatively, hiding and revealing
How to Dress Well's songs with clouds of reverb and distortion to greater and lesser degrees on each album. He follows the relatively crystalline Care with
The Anteroom, which brings the experimental side of his music to the fore in a way that hasn't been heard since
HTDW's earliest days. On
Love Remains, Krell's use of texture only added to the otherworldly longing of his melodies, and the same is true of his fifth album. Inspired by the crushing loneliness he suffered after moving to Los Angeles as well as his despair following the 2016 elections, he uses abrasive sounds to construct
The Anteroom's liminal spaces for isolation, protection, and transformation. Working with co-producer Joel Ford -- another artist skilled at bridging pop and experimental idioms -- this time Krell applies his effects more selectively. He lets his voice slip into distortion while his surroundings remain clear on "Humans Disguised as Animals | Nonkilling 1," then contrasts his silky tones with static-laden beats on "A Memory, The Spinning of a Body | Nonkilling 2." On suite-like tracks such as "Nonkilling 3 | The Anteroom | False Skull," which first appeared on the Land of the Overflowing Urn EP and was sparked by a vision Krell had of being knee-deep in ashes, he expresses his feelings of separation with vivid fragments; "when they ask you what you mean/your lips are moving but the mic’s not on," he croons before hard-edged techno engulfs him. Similarly, "Nonkilling 6 | Hunger" shifts from a distorted verse of poetry to warm, slightly roughed-up pop-house music. However,
The Anteroom's connections are just as important as its divisions. Krell explores physical manifestations of mental anguish on songs as varied as the relatively straightforward "Body Fat" and "July 13 No Hope No Pain," where he sighs "I only feel pain when I'm holding on" between spoken word interludes and glitchy found sounds. He also finds room for healing on "Love Means Taking Action," a piece of therapeutic pop that feels more genuine than many of Care's relationship songs. On this track and throughout
The Anteroom, Krell sounds revitalized; by revisiting his noise-drenched past with the experience he's gained since then, he delivers an album that's just as impressionistic as his early work, and possibly even more adventurous. ~ Heather Phares