Teengirl Fantasy, a duo known for making electronic music by playing with samples in their backlog, has since switched gears to produce more original compositions moving forward. Their latest EP, Nun, has continued with the current style they established in their 2012 release of the album, Tracer. Much of what you will find when listening to Teengirl Fantasy is a playful approach to creating electronic music that isn’t so much dance nor is it so much ambient. Their tracks will make you feel like you’re drifting through a digital dreamland.
For those of you who seek novel electronic sounds or experimental material, Teengirl Fantasy is right up your alley. In this latest EP, many of the old tricks like distorted percussion, spacey pads, and shifting pace have continued to be a staple of their trippy style.
“Eric”, the introductory track, exhibits much of what has stayed the same with a slow glittery intro and a muffled bass. The track then changes up its pace as it teases and then delivers on a rapid drum and bass beat; one of the more energetic tracks I have yet to hear from the duo and certainly the most exciting on the EP.
The following track, “Nun”, is more reminiscent to the Tracer album. It starts off with a bit of “setup” as instruments and percussion begin to play, seemingly at random until the full range of instruments have been exposed independent of any rhythm or order. A spacey pad then pulls together the chaos into an echoey melody. This play with sound definitely shows that Teengirl Fantasy isn’t done experimenting and isn’t afraid to continue with it in future releases.
Lastly the bonus tracks, “Platinum” and succeeding it, “Nun Beat” follow a more tame pattern. With “Platinum”, unfortunately, the smooth repetitiveness doesn’t leave much of an impression. For “Nun Beat”, however, it gives the listener a less chaotic way to experience “Nun” despite being a shortened version emphasizing the percussion instruments used.
As surprising as it is for me to see a duo that has reached this level of success while still being nestled in an experimental phase of their work, it should say more about changing tastes in electronica. Perhaps listeners are becoming more hungry for something they haven’t heard yet. What ever the reason is, Teengirl Fantasy has done a fine job at exploring what feels like fantasy in sound.
Rating: 7.0/10
MP3: Teengirl Fantasy “Eric”
Buy: iTunes or Amazon