Evy Jane’s Breaking creates an atmosphere that suspends you by the thinnest thread in darkness. Then the music and vocals sway you gently but forcibly from side to side. With every surge in Evelyn Jane Mason’s captivating voice and with every perfectly placed new layer in Jeremiah Klein’s production, you’re sent whirling to new sensations.
The album incorporates many different sounds: pop, shoegaze, electronic and ambient are all present, making for interesting combinations. Evy Jane is in a well represented field of musicians combining R&B and electronic, and powerful vocals with lush music. Jessy Lanza, Jessie Ware, the XX, Beach House, and ABRA all spring to mind.
The songs on Breaking are elaborate, soulful and dramatic. Standout “Lights” is the clearest example of the excellent harmony between the duo. The slowly dripping percussion anchors the track, but just barely. The soaring vocals riding on top of an army of violins drifting in and out with exceptional grace and gravitas, give great grandeur and drama. Another standout is “Give me Love,” with a hypnotically repetitive chorus, violin surges between hollow drums, and dreamy vocals. The song pulls you away from the world as voice and music encapsulate you and take you somewhere with no physicality, just sound and emotion.
It’s challenging to discern a lot of the lyrics, but one of Breaking’s themes is obviously love. The concept of “Under the Weather” with lyrics: “Thinking about you so very much / Thinking about you under your weather / You rain it down / Under your weather” seems to describe a harsh lover. “Dolphin Freestyle” sounds out of place in the album, but it seems to reference that lack of support one can get from a significant other: “Time and time again / You show me that you find yourself to be more important / Than the way I rhyme.” But it is not all negative and heartbreak. “Baby don’t be scared / This is just our cross to bear,” Mason sings in “Hedron,” despite the sacrifices and suffering they have, this will eventually get them to the greatest happiness.
Even the song names lend themselves to the creation of atmosphere that engulfs you. So grab a drink, turn off the lights keeping just the glare of your laptop on, and let yourself go for one inescapable ride.