by David Wilikofsky
Zach Phillips is nothing if not busy. Fresh off releasing two albums at the beginning of the year (the oddball pop of Blanche Blanche Blanche and jazzier Fievel Is Glauque) he’s back with an entirely new project. Exit From The Ultra-World is the debut album from Perfect Angels, a duo comprised of Phillips and Olia Eichenbaum. I’ll admit that I was far more familiar with Phillips’ music than Eichenbaum’s, but the two seem uniquely suited to work together. Phillips has always been hard to pin down as an artist, and Eichenbaum is no different. Her solo output as Œ belies a similar sonic adventurousness; as a vocalist she sounds equally at home in front of a raging rocker as Broadcast-esque electronic kosmische. Aided by a few other frequent Phillips collaborators (such as Chris Cohen and Ryan Powers), the duo has created an adventurous pop album that’s stranger than it seems.
It’s tempting to think of Exit From The Ultra-World as easy listening. As a whole it’s a set of music that goes down smooth and serves as pleasant background music, but there’s always something more lurking beneath the surface. Opener “The Moat” is all gentle grooves until it descends into a psychedelic haze, Eichenbaum’s unintelligible vocals echoing around a searing saxophone solo. “Orchids Are Not Sold” may be anchored by a steady beat, but Phillips’ wild piano solo whips all around it, eroding that sense of stability. The titular track starts with little more than a pulse but builds into a cacophony of instruments competing with one another for attention. There’s a delicate balance here; these less melodious moments never overwhelm the music’s ease, but they provide a depth that might otherwise be lacking.
The album features four covers. Two are from artists associated with Uruguayan pop (Mariana Ingold and Pippo Spera), and the other two are a low key jazz ballad and a girl group single. All are fairly straightforward, enjoyable pop tunes covered faithfully, but perhaps more importantly they begin to provide a window into the project. You can’t help but hear the influence of jazz on Phillips’ many solos throughout the album, or South American music (Uruguayan but also other countries like Brazil) in some of the rhythmic choices. These sounds merge with others from Phillips’ oeuvre, making a record that sounds novel yet familiar. Based on their past work, Phillips and Eichenbaum don’t seem happy to rest on their laurels, and Exit From The Ultra-World is certainly not that. It’s the sound of two artists continuing to evolve and pushing their artistry (and each other) into new, exciting territory.