Glitch Princess

Nat Ćmiel produces ethereal cyber pop that reflects a lifetime spent online, where everyone has the freedom to construct multiple identities and switch between them at will. Ćmiel began releasing electropop EPs as yeule in 2014 and made their full-length debut in 2019 with Serotonin II, a pillowy album of ambient dream pop that contained a few glitchy, beat-driven highlights such as "Pixel Affection" and "Pretty Bones." Second album Glitch Princess is more futuristic than yeules past work and perhaps more dystopian as well. Opening track "My Name Is Nat Cmiel" is a spoken word piece in which the artist introduces themself in a stiff, robotic voice, stating their interests and expressing a desire to leave their body: "I like to eat but I dont like it when it lingers on my body, I like to take up as little space as possible." "Flowers Are Dead" similarly focuses on transcending ones physical form, and its soaring chorus combines stuttering drums with shoegaze-y distortion. Tracks such as the darkwave ballad "Perfect Blue" and the sparse, guitar-driven emo tune "Dont Be So Hard on Your Own Beauty" further deal with perceptions of ones physical appearance. The jagged, uneasy "Friendly Machine" is another brutal examination of Ćmiels mental health ("I like to think Im doing just fine, I like to search my symptoms online") set to a thick swarm of serrated bleeps and trudging beats. The albums highlight is "Too Dead Inside," a dancehall-influenced collaboration with PC Musics Danny L. Harle in which Ćmiel pleads, "Take me somewhere pretty, pretty enough to fill this empty," later coming to the realization that "Its not so hollow." Closing track "Mandy" recalls the spirit of early Crystal Castles with its noisy, bitcrushed beats and harsh screams, yet theres also a tender heart beating inside. ~ Paul Simpson

独特の世界観によってヴィジュアル・アーティストとしても注目を集めるナット・チミエルの音楽プロジェクト、ユールが待望の2作目を完成。ドリーミーなASMRサウンドもシューゲイザーもアンビエントも、どこか壊れたコンピューターから漏れ出たように作用するグリッチ感で絶妙に機械的な雰囲気に仕上がっており、それが彼女自身のポスト・ヒューマン的な佇まいとリンクして私たちを電脳化された世界に導いていく。
bounce (C)長谷川義和