‘If Shrines shines in the dark, and Womb acts as connective tissue, Another Eternity is Purity Ring’s fascinating step into, and full embrace of, the light.’
Release date: February 27, 2015 | 4AD | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Website
The 2010s had more than a fair share of weird microgenres; their proliferation turned into a meme in and of itself. And yet, there was always at least some semblance of artistic merit to it, as was the case with witch house: a trippy, bass-boosted dream pop offshoot that took our dwindling attention span by storm. It brought to light gems such as Canadian duo Purity Ring‘s Another Eternity, a near-perfect destillation of the genre’s traits and pop appeal.
Daniel Reiser
Another Eternity was an evolution for Purity Ring. Shrines was a statement, a statement that led to an entire genre being developed, with it reaching its peak with Billie Eilish and “BAD GUY”. Shrines shined in the dark. It was a dreary album, drawing from the even more underground of witch house, and mixed it in with pop sensibilities to make spooky but gorgeous melodies. Another Eternity took a left turn from the aesthetic and brought everything into the sunlight.
From the very initial track, everything shines a little brighter. “Heartsigh” is very much in the portmanteau of Shrines titles, but overall everything leans in more of an endearing space that avoids the spookier sensibilities of their debut, and leans into the spiritual etheral of dream pop.
For all intents and purposes, it works. Their cohesion, keeping to just two members, enables a sense of dedicated experimentalism that gets harder to manage amongst many people, but the 1 producer + 1 singer band structure can avoid all of that, and provide more freedom and dynamic flexibility; much like Boy Harsher, Crystal Castles, Phantogram, Sylvan Esso, and Sleigh Bells.
The subtle lean towards trip-hop found in track “Repetition” reaps the success of that experimentalism tenfold. The samples Coren Roddick uses provide rich and layered context that allows Megan James to launch her spritely ethereal melodies high above, and work more like a springboard as opposed to a tether. It’s an interesting dynamic that expands genres and shares more in common with the 1 rapper + 1 producer in hip hop than other pop acts ever did.
Megan James’ vocals always carry a resolved sense of past worry that’s always interesting to listen to. The airy vocals don’t sound like anything else out there, and with their soft pillowy delivery always provide a calm sense of warmth and comfort. That delivery was in contrast to the production Corbin developed for Shrines, however; having seemingly paid attention, he decided to steer the production more towards James’ delivery rather than share that contrast.
All of that accumulates to one of the brightest shining star of a track, “Begin Again”. The soft house productions give James a feathered wonderland to explore, and flow more naturally. The small production qualities that Roddick adds shows the professionalism and care, and concern the duo takes with each track.
Although we’re five years out from the successor to Another Eternity, Purity Ring seem to still be moving along. I’m curious how their evolution looks in 2025, especially after the shifting global dynamics that seem to have affected literally everybody. However it does, though, I’m pretty certain it’s deep, and interesting, because that’s what each iteration of Purity Ring have provided. If Shrines shines in the dark, and Womb acts as connective tissue, Another Eternity is Purity Ring’s fascinating step into, and full embrace of, the light.
