{"id":42448,"date":"2016-03-16T08:15:12","date_gmt":"2016-03-16T13:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/?p=42448"},"modified":"2016-03-21T15:18:39","modified_gmt":"2016-03-21T20:18:39","slug":"mothxr-centerfold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/2016\/03\/16\/mothxr-centerfold\/","title":{"rendered":"MOTHXR: Centerfold"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

MOTHXR vocalist Penn Badgley starred in all 121 episodes of Gossip Girl, but MOTHXR\u2019s debut album,\u00a0<\/span>Centerfold,<\/span><\/i> does not reflect typical sensuality or romance and is not a glamorous album.\u00a0<\/span>New Romantic synth-sludge embalms every hook, and only Badgley\u2019s whisper escapes intact. Bassist and producer Johnny Giannopoulos extracted Depeche Mode\u2019s cold seduction and congealed it with a mawkish aesthetic. <\/span>Centerfold <\/span><\/i>is an absolute joy to listen to.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nothing escapes <\/span>Centerfold<\/span><\/i>\u2019s boggy singularity like Badgley\u2019s emotionless voice. He sounds like a robotic entrepreneur in Amsterdam’s Red Light District, despite never singing of intimacy. On “Underground,” Badgley\u00a0chants\u00a0\u201cShe\u2019s underground,\u201d and on \u201cTouch,\u201d he sings \u201cShe\u2019s a sad girl.\u201d Whoever \u201cshe\u201d is, her aesthetic permeates every compressed fiber that comprises this album. Rather than tenderly singing about women, Badgley chants \u201cLet me sink my teeth in\u201d toward them. There\u2019s nothing endearing about <\/span>Centerfold<\/span><\/i>, but it promises a fatal attraction. <\/span><\/p>\n

The title track paints a monochromatic portrait of a centerfold who crawls instead of struts, cries instead of sings, and visits war zones to unwind rather than corner-shops. Guitar strokes are tightly gripped at the neck, suffocated by tight production and atypical undercurrents. \u201cFight the Feeling\u201d features percussion that clipping might use if they exclusively produce with GarageBand. Airy hi-hats vivaciously escape <\/span>Centerfold<\/span><\/i>\u2019s singularity along with echoing toms. <\/span><\/p>\n

Although MOTHXR creates an attractive, slick aesthetic, they do not get particularly creative with it. Every resonant synth key can be predicted seconds before it\u2019s heard. Guitar solos and walls of sound are reserved for the end as \u201cEasy\u201d and \u201cFight the Feeling\u201d go uncannily bonkers at the end, and the last track, \u201cI Can See You\u2019ll Never Make it Out,\u201d feels desperate and overlong. MOTHXR explored the decadent basin of New Romantic dystopia\u2019s pits and excavated a dark, amethyst gem with <\/span>Centerfold<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Recommended If You Like: TR\/ST, Blood Orange, Mansions on the Moon<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recommended Tracks: 3 (Centerfold), 4 (Underground), 6 (Fight the Feeling), 9 (She Can\u2019t Tell)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do Not Play: 2 (Stranger)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Written by Logan Gossett on 03\/16\/16<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MOTHXR’s seductive debut album, Centerfold, successfully excavates the decedent basin of New Romanticism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6418,"featured_media":42449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[182,4,3235,3230],"tags":[4499,4500,3406,4498,11],"class_list":["post-42448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hip-hopelectronic-rotation","category-music","category-music-reviews","category-new-music-rotation","tag-centerfold","tag-gothic-girl","tag-logan-gossett","tag-mothxr","tag-new-music-rotation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Centerfold.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6418"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}