Following no floor, a remarkable instrumental collaboration with claire rousay that focused on pastoral electro-acoustic soundscapes, more eaze remained with Thrill Jockey for her vocal-based solo effort sentence structure in the country. The albums lyrics, often delivered through Auto-Tune but occasionally left unaltered, explore intimate moments and frustrating situations, reflecting on jealousy, apathy, and the difficulties of trying to succeed as a musician. Fragile vocals and bubbling, twinkling synthesizers adorn the patient opener "leave (again)," while ambient pop gem "bad friend" is propelled by a gently blipping pulse and softly crying steel guitar. Another of the records more accessible tunes, "the producer," also contains ticking drum machines, which back directly delivered lyrics about undersold tickets and the changing rules of the music industry. The droning "distance" melds ambient Americana with crashing, fluctuating drums courtesy of Ryan Sawyer. Two of the albums most dissonant and challenging tracks also feature Sawyer, with "crunch the numbers" marked by uncomfortable close-miked creaking, and "biters" containing bustling distortion, untethered acoustic guitars, and distant, yearning vocals, melding elements of emo, free improvisation, and avant-folk. Wendy Eisenbergs guest vocals on "healing attempt" provide one of the records most pop-informed melodies, while their electric guitar adds alien textures to the abstract title track, which also incorporates detached electronic thuds and unhinged fiddling. The album ends with "move," an affecting ballad with a repetitive electronic rhythm and sparingly used but heart-swelling strings. ~ Paul Simpson
Rovi