Altered Zones

By Chris Cantalini

When we (full disclosure) released the devastatingly gorgeous debut 7" from Austin's Sleep ∞ Over in early 2010, it was difficult to envision Stefanie Franciotti's hazy dream-pop project ever again scaling the lofty musical and emotional heights of absolute gems like "Outer Limits" and "La Rose," especially since two-thirds of the group defected shortly thereafter for reasons unknown. But on her debut full-length Forever-- largely a solo effort, with an assist from Christine Aprile of Austin's Silent Diane-- Franciotti delivers on the promise of those alternately shimmering and haunting early singles and then some, crafting a cohesive and immersive collection of spectral love songs.

Out of the haze and murk of opener "Behind Closed Doors" emerge fully-formed, utterly enveloping pop jams like "Romantic Streams" and lead single "Casual Diamond," teeming with the kind of unforgettable, heartbursting melodies that earned Franciotti all of those early Cocteau Twins and Kate Bush comparisons. These lovely, relatively straightforward numbers are interspersed with warped, beautifully ominous ambient pieces like "Porcelain Hands" and the bleak, Grouper-in-outerspace-esque "Crying Game," recalling the more free-form exploratory noise that Franciotti creates under her "psych murk" side-project Raga Chrome. She has no qualms with getting suffocatingly dark on these mood-setting soundscapes, but the eerie and occasionally harsh dissonance only serves to make the pop-focused moments on the record that much more affecting and cathartic.

The depths plunged on the aforementioned "Crying Game" set the stage for the highlight and emotional core of the record: the powerful, one-two gut-punch of "Stickers" and "Don't Poison Everything." It's here that Franciotti reaches her compositional and emotional zenith, definitively transcending any and all lazily dismissive "witch house" tags, and at the same time, cementing Forever's place as one of the most bewitching and essential albums of the year.

Sleep ∞ Over: Forever

Forever LP is out September 27th on Hippos In Tanks