Yohuna

Add Date: September 6 

Artist: Yohuna 

Album: Patientness 

Label: Orchid Tapes 

Genre: Alt-pop, shoegaze, electropop

Comments: The RIYL section -- for those of you not in the loop with music-jargon acronyms, that's Recommended If You Like -- in the promoter's email for Yohuna's new LP Patientness lists 19 (nineteen!) artists. So if you could imagine music that sounds like a combination of Still Corners, Owen Pallett, Wild Nothing, Austra, Cocteau Twins, Zola Jesus, No Joy, Chromatics, Pure X, and 10 other artists, presumably you'll arrive at this project of the Wisconsin-born musician Johanne Swanson.

Of course, that kind of mental fusion is nearly impossible to do -- although, in the promoter's defense, Yohuna's sound is just as difficult to pin down. Album opener "Lake" is a gorgeous ambient synthpop number, but it quickly gives way to the fuzzy shoegaze pop of "The Moon" and "World Series", which bring to mind Memoryhouse (which made the final 19-player roster); elsewhere, you'll hear some Far Eastern influences on "Golden Foil" and "Steel Sinks" (think Lia Ices, who didn't make the cut). Meanwhile, album standout "Apart" is an atmospheric pop gem that warrants comparisons to (Mr.) Twin Sister.

While this versatility may make Yohuna impossible to pin down, she pulls it off with aplomb on the enjoyable Patientness. 

Recommended Tracks: 6, 2, 5, 1, 3

DNP: none