Prey//IV

An astoundingly honest, and at times brutal, listen, ‘PREY//IV’ still ends on a note of hope.

On the whole, PREY//IV expresses a dance-when-you're-sad energy that Glass and Kath never quite achieved with Crystal Castles, and that Kath and Glass stand-in Edith Frances have yet to capture since the enigmatic former frontwoman's departure.

Longtime Glass fans might observe parallels between PREY//IV’s sound and the music of the band in which she was emotionally abused. In continuing to explore that group’s abrasive, icy sound, she reclaims the power that her abuser attempted to steal from her. And in collaborating with her partner Jupiter io, formerly of noise-pop band HEALTH, she brings her own softer, foggier edge to the blistering rave music with which she’s often associated.

'PREY//IV' is not simply music to listen to: it’s an attempt to communicate genuine pain in ways that simply aren’t possible through a written statement posted online. Little surprise, then, that the lyrics go for the jugular on occasion (“You taste like rotten meat”; “Are you picturing my insides outside of me?”). However, they’re at their most effective when their visceral imagery gives way to narratives of coercion and control, as it does on 'FAIR GAME'

‘PREY//IV’ does not shy away from Alice’s story; instead, its imagery is violent and visceral, with portraits of isolation (‘PINNED BENEATH LIMBS’) and self harm (‘BABY TEETH’) riddled throughout an album defined by a sort of constant itchiness, a wish to rid itself of trauma by occupying it so fully.

While the choice to end Prey//IV with its most downcast song might feel like a relinquishing of the power that Glass has claimed, it grounds the album’s brutality in reality, poignantly reminding us that this is a document of Glass’s lived experiences.

On PREY//IV, Glass finds a voice that was silenced and distorted by abuse and manipulation; if anything, her first solo full-length can feel overwhelming, boiling over with so many vocal and musical experiments that don’t always cohere.