TESS ROBY - Ideas Of Space

A recording studio built inside her home in Montreal, its huge windows caked in snow and ice, two friends – Patrick and Addy – with whom to share a passion for music, a series of melodies unearthed in that space dividing reality from imagination, sometimes captured quickly on an iPhone or jotted down in a Word file: this is the world of Tess Roby.

The Canadian singer-songwriter's second album is another blow to the heart for lovers of refined, elegant synth-pop: Tess Roby's mezzo-soprano weaves enchanting melodies over floating layers of synths and looped electronic percussion, recalling the Polyrock of Glass's heyday ("Path"), while she equally dabbles in vaguely retro chords and arpeggios, with a harmonic flexibility and lyrical solidity that charm and seduce ("Up 2 Me").

All the tantalizing promises of the debut album "Beacon" become reality. The artist deftly keeps everything under control, from songwriting to production, with surprising results for a DIY synth-pop project.

Only a few, but excellent collaborations: Austin Tufts of Braids, Joseph Shabason and Ouri, for a record that borders on perfection. Tess Roby explores every possible shade of electronic music, lends an ear to the crossover appeal of pop-jazz, crafting small sound sculptures perfect for a visual-art installation ("Elegy Revisited"), broadens the horizons of synth-pop by letting rhythm step aside for a moment and allowing the ever-enchanting sound of the cello to drift through the door ("Euphoria In August"), while anticipating future developments toward even more ethereal and cinematic tonalities ("House/Home").

Every song is like a small secular prayer: some are like a breath (the interplay of piano, voice and keyboards in "Century"), others rely on the magic of the Arp's sound in search of new forms of folk-pop mysticism ("Eyes Like Babylon"), but above all towers the sonic intrigue born from the marriage of floating synths and Roby's vocal qualities (the title track).

If you haven't yet found the ambient-synth-pop record of the year, perhaps it's time to give Ideas Of Space a listen. Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back.

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22/10/2022