Psychic 9-5 Club is HTRK's first complete full-length as a duo. Founding member Sean Stewart passed away while the Australian group was recording their previous album, the gloomy Work (Work Work), released on Ghostly International in 2011. Surviving band mates Nigel Yang and vocalist Jonnine Standish carry on, offering an introspective batch of songs replete with hollow, dub-inflected rhythms and sparse melodies. With a lazy pace and slightly detached vocals from Standish, these eight tracks seem to sway like strips of bleached cloth hanging in a light breeze.
Instrumentally, the music is almost barren, with electronic drums and a lonely melody the only bedding for Standish's husky voice to drape itself on. Her lyrics ruminate on the concept of love, so much so that raw emotion permeates the entire album in spite of the coldness of the music itself. It's the one ray of hope that really permeates the rather dour mood cast by the band's unfortunate circumstances.
(Ghostly International)Instrumentally, the music is almost barren, with electronic drums and a lonely melody the only bedding for Standish's husky voice to drape itself on. Her lyrics ruminate on the concept of love, so much so that raw emotion permeates the entire album in spite of the coldness of the music itself. It's the one ray of hope that really permeates the rather dour mood cast by the band's unfortunate circumstances.