Review Summary: pure, entrancing oblivion.
for someone who highly enjoys inevitably delving into a oblivious psychological universe of their own through art, vision in furs by chemists // 化å*¦è€… (chemists, from now on) is the perfect and most fitting record for the task. wondering who chemists is/are? no one really knows. is it a guy? is it a girl? is it a band? is there any context to the project's debut 32-minute full length lp? did it earn itself a rave review from pitchfork, anthony fantano or from anyone at rym or here at sputnikmusic? it did not... so what's the big deal about it? well, the record's lack of context and its inherent 'unknownness' only contributes to its earnest mystery, as well as to one's personal enjoyment of the eclectic musicianship, dream-like atmosphere and inevitably infeccious soundscapes it provides the listener with. vision in furs is as relaxing and uplifting as it is emotionally crushing and addicting as well. be it the psychedelic stereo ambience to be found on opener "warm / forever", the heart-wrenching, infeccious and eurodance-beat-oriented "sayumii (é*…力)", the boards-of-canada-esque low-frequency acoustic-guitar wizardry on "into slow house" or the epic psych rock/shoegaze closing track "the deep time virtual", there's a whole plethora of textures, details and hidden audible treasures to be found under all of the my-bloody-valentine-ish reverb. while not afraid of showcasing influences, the project chemists never wears them on its sleeve, as vision in furs is an album unlike any other album by any artist that preceeded it. vision in furs is music you can dive into and unashamedly get lost to without anyone reprehending and/or blaming you for enjoying this unapologetically gratifying sense of psychological, physical, emotional and also spiritual escape. vision in furs is a record that values mental autonomy and humanitary sensing; an intelligent record that doesn't make any demands but doesn't take them either. as bold and experimental as it is contagiously dancable, vision in furs not only could be seen as the 21st century's hidden musical treasure, but could as well be seen as the universal creatures communion's happy-go-lucky dancing contest soundtrack.
shall we dance?
