There\u2019s a thin line between nostalgia and creation. One of the most fascinating aspects of the 2000s revival has been hearing old reference points collide in new ways. Though the loosely defined \u201cindie sleaze\u201d craze amounted to little more than cosplay for some artists, most famously the Dare jacking James Murphy\u2019s swag, a giddy swirl of influences at play in Bassvictim\u2019s music creates the sense of one foot planted in the past, one in the future. So it goes with ear.<\/p>\n
The basics: ear are a two-piece electronic twee band (or \u201cindietronica\u201d if you must) comprising Jonah Paz and Yaelle Avtan, formed at Bard College two years ago and now split between London and Upstate New York. Their band name is partly inspired by a His Name Is Alive song. After building buzz with their 2024 debut single \u201cNerves\u201d and their 2025 debut album The Most Dear And The Future \u2014 a surehanded statement of ethos and aesthetic in just 16 minutes of audio \u2014 they became one of the first acts signed to A24 Music, the record label run by the prestige film production company and distributor A24. This Friday they\u2019ll release their second album, Rumspringa, and they\u2019re being so secretive that we\u2019re not allowed to share the album cover until the music\u2019s out.<\/p>\n
Like Bassvictim, ear\u2019s music instantly evokes the 2000s, but they fit the pieces together in distinctive ways, forming exciting new shapes. There\u2019s a lot of indiepop in the mix \u2014 Paz also released a twee solo album called Exit<\/a> last year \u2014 but also glitchy IDM, atmospheric post-rock, found sound, slowcore, bursts of blaring sawtooth synths. Imagine the Postal Service\u2019s indie synth-pop as reinterpreted by the earnest Icelandic minimalists m\u00fam, or the hushed vocal duets of the xx soundtracked by sonic collagists the Books. Yet for all its Y2K-era touchpoints, ear\u2019s music also makes sense in conversation with current artists like avant-rock abstractionists caroline or \u201cemo ambient\u201d cult hero claire rousay. It\u2019s not for nothing that \u201cNerves\u201d got a boost from inclusion on Spotify\u2019s CPH+ playlist, which centers on Copenhagen\u2019s booming alt-pop scene.<\/p>\n In other words, ear are kindred spirits with anyone who is channeling deep yearning into whispery, electro-organic outpourings. Rumspringa is full of intimate expressions often whittled down to a few open-ended phrases, then obscured by their drowsily mumbled delivery. You feel like you\u2019re hearing Paz and Avtan\u2019s deepest longings, maybe even burblings from their subconscious. But in practice it\u2019s more about sentiments than specifics, which pairs well with music that feels like stepping into someone else\u2019s dreams.\u00a0<\/p>\n Named for the Amish practice of letting teenagers live outside the community\u2019s strict standards as a way of sorting out their life trajectory, Rumspringa is billed as a \u201cchoose life\u201d album, but ear are being coy about what the phrase entails. Promo materials elaborate that this music is about how pursuing personal independence can be destructive or beautiful. Although the lyrics leave a lot unsaid, they are a crucial animating force for the music itself, as Paz explained evocatively in a No Bells interview last year<\/a>: \u201cWe spend most of the time on sound selection, because once you know the thesis of the song it\u2019s basically just collecting evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s no surprise, then, that the source material can often be inscrutable too. \u201cThat\u2019s our favorite thing is sounds that are secrets, even from each other,\u201d Avtan told No Bells. \u201cThere was certain stuff that I sent Jonah where it\u2019s like, \u2018You can\u2019t know where this is from, just listen to it as a sound.\u2019\u201d Paz added, \u201cSo much of the sauce for us is intentionally not telling each other what we\u2019re doing on the track, and then we end up with a fun lexicon of stuff that we work from because there\u2019s a lot of stuff that we haven\u2019t said out loud.\u201d Paz and Avtan are sensitive introverts and self-described gatekeeping enthusiasts<\/a>, so it\u2019s almost too perfect that they\u2019re holding some things back even from each other. Yet if the pair retain some mystery in their working relationship, they\u2019re also closely attuned to each other. \u201cThe way we make music is basically looking over to the other to see what facial expression they\u2019re making,\u201d Avtan told The Face<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n On Rumspringa, that emotional dance leads us somewhere between a place and a state of mind. Squealing synth melodies descend upon the clicking, murmuring lead single \u201cNe Plus Ultra,\u201d piling up like a freak blizzard. \u201cThreads\u201d makes beautiful use of a twinkly music-box keyboard melody, sampled dialogue, and whirring synth oscillations. The lo-fi bedroom-pop guitar strums of \u201cNothing\u2019s Open\u201d give way to \u201cF,\u201d a track that reminds me of Burial\u2019s brisk adventures through the London nightlife. For 30 minutes, ear wield familiar tones and textures with the confidence and creative excitement that comes with youth. They might not let you all the way in, but you share in their sense of epiphany as they reshuffle nostalgia into the soundtrack for a new generation\u2019s memories.<\/p>\n Rumspringa is out 5\/29 on A24 Music.<\/p>\n Other albums of note out this week:
Boards Of Canada’s Inferno
Paul McCartney’s The Boys Of Dungeon Lane
Kurt Vile’s Philadelphia’s Been Good To Me
Feeble Little Horse’s bitknot
Iceage’s For Love Of Grace & The Hereafter
Rare DM’s Attention
Elder’s Through Zero
Villagerrr’s Carousel
Balmora’s These Graven Halls
Kim Petras’ Detour
Greg Mendez’s Beauty Land
Turnover’s Down On Earth
The Bug Club’s Every Single Muscle
Callahan & Witsher’s Sorry to Hear That
Guided By Voices’ Crawlspace Of The Pantheon
Francis Of Delirium’s Run, Run Pure Beauty
Latto’s Big Mama
Cole Berliner’s The Black Door
Joshua Ray Walker’s Ain\u2019t Dead Yet
Violet Grohl’s Be Sweet To Me
Sparta’s Cut A Silhouette
Dogstar’s All In Now
aespa’s LEMONADE
Saint Agnes’ Your God Fearing Days Are About To Begin
Ghinzu’s W.O.W.A.
Veps’ ChurchyardStreet 8B
38 Spesh’s 8 Shots
RaiNao’s Marcria
Mark Trecka’s Romance Wake Naming
Scottie Miller’s Hello Pain
Mad Iris’ Mad Iris
Don Williams’ EPILOGUE: THE CELLAR TAPES
Shinedown’s EI8HT
The Greenberry Woods’ It’s All Good, Sugar
Young Miko’s Do Not Disturb (Deluxe)
Static Dress’ Injury Episode
YG Kayboe’s Blood On The Pen 3 Mixtape
Widemouth’s No Gasoline
HECATE ENTHRONED\u2019s The Corpse Of A Titan, A Lament Long Buried
Yottie’s CASINO Mixtape
Rosie Carney’s doomsday (night tapes)
Gigi Masin’s Movement
District Five\u2019s GLUT
GODTHRYMM’s Projections
TRUEANDTRUE’s NOSEDIVE
K\u00c1RYYN’s PHYSICS UNIVERSAL LOVE LANGUAGE (PULL)
Oakwood’s Blurred Away
Monolord’s Neverending
Phoenix James’ Teeth
Tenroc’s God Is A Person
JP Soars & Anne Harris\u2019 Gypsy Blue Revue
The Hands Free’s Upturned Cup
The Maureens’ Don’t Give Up
Wev’s OST
Danalogue’s Teleportations
Lenka’s Good Days
Doublespeak’s Doublespeak
Devin Townsend’s The Moth
Camille Camille’s Enchanted Sea
Kris Tiner & Cathlene Pineda’s Sung
All Them Witches’ House Of Mirrors
Susto’s Susto Stringband (Volume 2)
Lennie Rayen’s Entertain The Space
Tory Silver’s In Through The Front With Lasers
Kik\u00f9 Hibino & Merzbow’s Rococo \u221e Echomatter
Tomorrow Tomorrow’s Dwelling
Ren\u00e9e Fleming & B\u00e9la Fleck’s The Fiddle And The Drum
David Torn’s i imagine a place not the same
Paper Pools’ Everything
Russ Irwin’s King Of A Thousand Fools
Lyra Pramuk’s Hymnal (Resung)
Keyland’s Knuckle Sandwich
Vic Bondi’s Vic Bondi And His Issues
Labrinth’s COSIMC OPERA ACT II
Funebrarum’s Beckoning The Void Of Eternal Silence
Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts’ As Time Explodes Live Album
The Who’s Live At Eden Project 2023
The Fall’s Singles Live Vol. Two 1980\u201383
Ducks Ltd.’s Modern Fiction (5 Year Anniversary Edition)
Various Artists’ Power Ballad (Music From The Motion Picture)
Various Artists’ K-POPS! (Music From And Inspired By K-POPS! Motion Picture)
Various Artists’ Where The Willow And The Dogwood Grow
The Monkees’ Good Times! (10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)
Voka Gentle’s Domestic Bliss: Remixes
KulfiGirls’ Divinity (Deluxe Edition)
Hunx And His Punx’s The Punkettes EP
Eli & Fur’s Dreams At Dusk Pt. II EP
Opal Mag’s Goodbye Lavender EP
DOSS’ DOSS EP
Crimes Of Passion’s Coasting EP
thistle.’s backflip EP
Heavee’s Mainframe EP
John Gallagher Jr.’s Almost OK EP
Saint Harison’s ghosted EP
Siyahkal’s Corrupt EP
Ablation’s Lethal Abuse EP
KIMIKO’s Modern Dance EP
Maiah Manser’s Fifth Dimension Part 1 EP
Wesko’s Familiar Spirits EP
Kuleeangee’s Love & Affection EP
Heidi Curtis’ Hollow Heart EP
Rules’ As Soon As I Get Home EP
Ayase’s dialogue EP
Die Twice’s Accept Me Like A Lie EP
Sierra Spirit’s Rodeo Clown EP
corook’s How do I relate to you? EP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s a thin line between nostalgia and creation. One of the most fascinating aspects of the 2000s revival…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":446660,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[156,157,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-446659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=446659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446659\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/446660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=446659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=446659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=446659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}