‘Vanish’ is always on the go, and always moving from one place to another. It feels like it’s permanently sprinting, as from the very first second, a maze-like network of physically-fit and active sounds jump out at the listener. Vanish marks Julia Reidy’s debut for Editions Mego. The Australian musician, who is now based in Berlin, creates dazzling, beguiling music which centres around a sparkling 12-string guitar.
Lakes of reverb and other effects are utilised to extend, stretch, or reshape the guitar’s original sound, and the use of autotune in her vocal work creates distinct and colourful music. Opener ‘Clairvoyant’ is immediately active and pulls its sleeves up right away. Vanish incorporates many different and incredibly lush sounds to produce something explosive and fresh. The opening eighteen-minute track settles down somewhat when the guitar steps into the limelight, but it’s still travelling at quite a lick.
An earlier vocal line disappears as the strings resound, zooming over the fretboard as if it were a highway. It will go through multiple iterations before it completes its journey and comes to a standstill, and her tracks are made up of multiple sections. From time to time, an acidic distortion eats away at the music.
Second track ‘Oh Boy’ begins at a slower pace, but rippling synths and Reidy’s jagged autotune soon come in to disrupt any potential break or reverie, and the record continues to break the speed limit. Vanish runs along at a faster speed than Sonic the Hedgehog; Reidy’s music constantly and consistently dazzles.
www.juliareidy.bandcamp.com