patâgoniå – ^^^^
Recommendation: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
^^^^ by patâgoniå isn’t quite sure what it wants to be, but that’s okay. This EP is one of a series of themed releases by the anonymous artist, who primarily releases through Seikomart and Sud Swap Audio Brewing. Each release centers around a specific article or brand of the eponymous outdoor recreation company (e.g. yellow jacket, which was released just last month) and generally features a subtle corporate-utopian vibe. Compare starting track “^^” to REDEFINING THE WORKPLACE by INTERNET CLUB. It’s less overtly “business is great!”, but has similar uptempo composition and a sense of “you can do anything here”.
The rest of ^^^^ is ambient-ish hypnagogic stuff, and they’re all strikingly different from that first track, which makes it seem rather incongruous despite its quality. The second two tracks (also titled with carats) are rather dark, misty tracks – perhaps patâgoniå wants you to trek through foggy valleys with its gear? “Snow Trek Nano Air®” is a short, entirely ambient track that is the only song on this particular release to directly reference a product. “^^^” is this album’s major feature; it’s ten minutes of hypnagogic drift that utilizes trip-hop percussion à la Perdition City by Ulver. The final track is another ambient-ish mix that features JAL RASTAFARLINE.
^^^^ has its moments, but it’s a bit too unfocused to let its shining moments really shine forth, switching between styles that lose the sense of consistency that patâgoniå albums attempt to achieve in presentation. A bit more refinement on vision, and patâgoniå could become a notable artist in corporate or faux-utopian vaporwave music.
Tracklist
1. ^^ – (4:40)
2. ^^^^^ – (3:04)
3. ^^^^ – (4:09)
4. Snow Trek Nano Air® – (1:39)
5. ^^^ – (9:54)
6. Flight of the Condor (feat. JAL RASTAFARLINE) – (5:00)