Cellars - Phases

Cellars
Phases
2016
Spotify

Phases is the sophomore release from Allene Norton otherwise known as Cellars. The record is a time machine directly back to 80s dance floors with music meant for swaying and snapping your fingers. There is a version of this record (like the newest M83 Junk) where the songs would be direct rip offs, completely pedestrian and an attempt to capitalize on what has become a revival of 80s synth-pop. Phases however is not that. Her music is fresh and vibrant and uses the 80s sounds just as a vehicle rather than the focal point of the record. The emotions, everything is highly evocative of the decade making the album feel more like a time capsule than something new. But then the production, done by Ariel Pink, pulls the sound forward and makes it new once again. Where a lot of synth-pop tries to focus on the upbeat danceable music, Cellars take a stab at the ballad side of things allowing the music to slowly and quietly flow into every inch of space. This is no more evident then on "Real Good Day" where the song just kind of crawls to you, creeping closer and closer to something special. "Still in Love" at first listen is just a generic 80s love song complete with sparkly adornments, but Norton's voice pulls what would otherwise be way to sweet of a sound around a makes the ending of this track one of the best on the album.

The lynch pin for this album however will definitely be your appreciation for the sounds of the 80s. They are not just a part of the album, they ARE the album. If you have an issue with synths, there really is not much else on here which will bring you around. It makes the album quite niche but in a really exciting way. Norton certainly could have sped things up, tweaked a couple things and had a perfectly passable electro-pop album but instead she digs in and creates the music she wants to. What really works on this record is her vocals. There is not one moment where her singing is not perfectly suited to the song, and often she uses different inflections track to track. The album as a whole is just a really great take on a decade all these years later, taking the best pieces from so many artists and putting them all right here. There are times on the record where some songs can go on for a bit to long taking what is a really solid song and just pushing it way to long. It is not that it becomes boring, but around four minutes, you get it and do not need another minute and a half to just sit with the track. Phases is certainly an album that you do not want to miss and the chances that Allene Norton has taken here have really paid off.

7.2 out of 10