Another Eternity represents the confluence of hard trap beats with the formula for electro that gave rise to prevailing styles in indie music. It’s enough of a creative leap to perhaps usher in more copycats, but Purity Ring again checks in first.
As a whole, the album could do with slightly more counterbalance to the several anthemic tracks, but the delicate final song, Stillness in Woe, is a welcome, dreamy reprieve.
[2012 album, Shrines] was a fun record, like listening to Madonna at half speed with your face in a strobe light. Follow-up Another Eternity does little to expand this aesthetic, but for those who enjoy hearing top 40 pop sounds refracted through a funhouse mirror, that's probably not bad news.
This feels like little more than a competent game of catch-up for three years away, with Purity Ring now following in the footsteps of others, in a genre where they once led the pack.
The weight of Tucker and Roddick's reverb-drenched, synth-stuffed production is such that it's hard for their songs to consistently achieve the kind of liftoff that the pair desires.
In replacing their alien atmospheres with something a little more immediate, they’ve lost what was initially inviting to those other artists: they were outsiders, capable of great oddities and darkness.
'Another Eternity' consolidates the significant potential evident in Purity Ring's first album 'Shrines.' Many critics have argued the band'Another Eternity' consolidates the significant potential evident in Purity Ring's first album 'Shrines.' Many critics have argued the band has lost some of its alternative appeal with a cleaner, tighter and bigger sound. The general consensus seems to be that the duo is pushing toward the mainstream (code for 'selling out' perhaps). It could equally be argued, however, that Purity Ring's modus operandi on 'Another Eternity' is actually the exploitation of top 40 sounds and production standards to create something that is disconcertingly close to the mainstream even as it unsettles the latter's familiarity/banality. And this may be more powerfully 'alternative' than the band's use of more traditional techniques (read identity-markers) of indie music on their earlier work. Most notably the reverb-drenched vocals and warped/off-pitch keyboard melodies canonised by pioneers like Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine have been replaced with up-front pop-style vocal production and tight EDM basses and riffs, but the end result feels oddly displaced from the mainstream, even as it invites comparisons to MTV mainstays Katy Perry or Lil Wayne. It recalls the artistic strategy of re-framing the TV soapie employed so powerfully by auteur director David Lynch during his Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet era. 'Another Eternity' is decidedly dark, and reminded me of my first encounters with Massive Attack's Mezzanine. It also feels as significant a moment for electronic music as the release of that late 90s masterpiece. I should add, however, that Another Eternity does not fall foul of being a purely self-reflexive or academic exercise in musical post-modernism. Its astute appropriation and re-framing of pop creates a visceral masterpiece, with some of the most powerful songs I have heard for some time. It is also notable for its sheer consistency of quality. While the music industry norm is 3 or maybe 4 stand-out tracks on a major album release, with the remainder being fillers, nearly every track on this album shines. May this release auger still greater things to come.…Expand
An incredible album! Way better than Shrines, every song is almost a highlight on here. every hook, every verse and every beat gets stuck inAn incredible album! Way better than Shrines, every song is almost a highlight on here. every hook, every verse and every beat gets stuck in your head and this is what I want for a pop album, Shrines might be more unique but it has nowhere near the same replay value or is as catchy as this one. it will be really hard to top this amazing piece of art.
Favorite tracks: stranger than earth, flood on the floor, the rest of the album
Least favorites: none…Expand
What originally drew me to Purity Ring was the ethereal sound and intricate textures on their first album, Shrines. Another Eternity is stillWhat originally drew me to Purity Ring was the ethereal sound and intricate textures on their first album, Shrines. Another Eternity is still recognizable as the same band, but it's a bit of a departure as well. On this album, Purity Ring is stepping out of the ghostly shadows and embracing a somewhat more mainstream electropop sound. The songs are a lot more melodic and catchy this time around, and they're actually distinguishable from each other! (I've listened to Shrines many times and still have a hard time remembering which song is which.) Even though Another Eternity may not be as innovative as Shrines, I think it's overall a stronger album. The songwriting is varied, confident, and consistent, and since the album is somewhat short, it makes me want to play it again when it's over.…Expand
-I met Purity Ring thanks to MTV early this year. ''Push pull'' was on TV and I really liked the song, but I didn't pay attention to them-I met Purity Ring thanks to MTV early this year. ''Push pull'' was on TV and I really liked the song, but I didn't pay attention to them until now, I decided to search their album and I fell in love with it, I love the dream sounds and the quiet of the songs.
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Purity Ring are apparently aiming at more mainstream styles of pop music nowadays and it’s a so-and-so effort—Shrines felt fresh due to thePurity Ring are apparently aiming at more mainstream styles of pop music nowadays and it’s a so-and-so effort—Shrines felt fresh due to the claustrophobic, equally eerie and endearing nature of the tracks that transpired into a sound numerous artists soon began to emulate. The contrary inhabits another eternity, an album largely influenced by everything else, even its own predecessor to certain extents. A contemporary pop sheen can be found covering everything from the hook-laden choruses (“I, I, I lied, now I’m wide awake/I, I, I cried till my body ache”) to Corin Roddick’s heavy use of trap and trance tropes to create catchy, but quite commonly heard electronic soundscapes. Luckily, Megan James’ voice is still her softest, sweetest musical advisory; her songwriting, albeit much more suggestive nowadays (“Get inside and pull on my sea/Get inside and build your castle into me”), remains poetic, but has a penchant for ‘repetition’, most notably James’ fascination with her innards and inserting a special somebody into them, figuratively and… literally? Elsewhere, it just doesn’t get any quirkier than an accidental—maybe?—shout-out to Frank Ocean’s “Thinkin Bout You” on “stranger than earth”. It’s nowhere near bad, but Purity Ring are too talented to be just ‘good’. And that’s what another eternity is, just good.
I have never heard about Purity Ring until I listened to this album, so I didn't put any expectations on it and I am really glad of it.I have never heard about Purity Ring until I listened to this album, so I didn't put any expectations on it and I am really glad of it. Another Eternity is good and repetitive at the same time, all the songs look equal for me. I don't know if I don't get this yet and may be wrong or I can be right about the disc, but I'm sure that is not what I had thought before to listen it.…Expand
As a huge Purity Ring fan, I came into this record with some of the highest expectations. To say that they let me down is the understatementAs a huge Purity Ring fan, I came into this record with some of the highest expectations. To say that they let me down is the understatement of the year. To me, this record is the epitome of a superficial electro pop album that barely scrapes past the surface. Every melody, every hook falls short to the point where I have to genuinely wonder what outside help they received on Shrines that they didn't get here. If this were merely a case of label deadline issues and they put this out a year after Shrines I'd cut them some slack. But this is the result of 3-4 years of effort. Tracks like "Repetition" and "Flood on the Floor" are ones that I would be genuinely embarrassed to put my name by. To me, another eternity is more than just a sophomore slump, it's the beginning of the end for the band that originally inspired me to become a music producer. I am still hopeful they turn it all around with their next effort, but I can't say I have much faith after hearing another eternity.…Expand
