Holly Herndon – Platform

A dense, chaotic barrage of spatialised noise and chopped up, processed vocals, Holly Herndon’s second full length doesn’t so much require an open mind as is does a complete recalibration of one’s auditory perception. The jarring, avant-garde compositions of Platform take time and effort to parse, their sheer abundance of stimulation speaking to the often discombobulating experience of life in the digital age.

Soon though, melodies begin to take shape, like the corrupted vocal sample that eventually makes for Chorus’ unlikely hook, or the frantic pitch-bent cry that pleasingly worms its way between what repeat listens renders An Exit’s sing-a-long bridge. In Platform’s anxious depiction of the modern world – one in which the iPhone’s unlock chime has replaced the rooster crow (Morning Sun) and our bedroom’s are casually frequented by surveillance agencies (Home) – these moments of clarity offer hope, a tribute to human perseverance in making sense of the weird sci-fi future that is 2015.