Gяiмεs - Visioиs (2012)

4AD debut of an unbelievably promising female artist who has taken Montreal by storm over the last few years, Gяiмεs is a surreal moniker that incorporates everything from New Wave to New Age to K-Pop into a buzzing wonder of pop inventiveness that rivals everyone from Blondie to The Jesus And Mary Chain in psychedelic posturing.

With all that in mind, Visions is indeed eclectic and an early contender in 2012's AOTY war. The flavors inside are endlessly delectable: opening single 'Oblivion' is very much in line with classic Cocteau Twins while a gorgeous 6-minute deep cut like 'Skin' takes Enya's late 80's New Age-lite to a level of immersioncraft that borders on the inexplicable. Yet beyond all that there is a distinctly modern dancefloor songwriting edge to the musical process at hand, particularly in the dubstep dreamthump of 'Nightmusic' and a beautiful albeit bizarre take on J-Pop meets Quarterflash fusion in 'Visiting Statue'.

As inherently retarded as a tag like "post-pop" seems in the greater scheme of things, this is one of those rare albums that seems to fit such a label's elusive critera. Its the sort of misfit music that doesn't fit comfortably in any era, the sort of soniconcoction that could only be made in the shadow of an insatiable Information Age where all barriers vanish in a puff of neon lights and button clicks. Astonishing.

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