Group Rhoda - Out Of Time - Out Of Touch (Vinyl LP, CD)

Group Rhoda is, somewhat confusingly, the solo project of Mara Barenbaum, who uses synthesisers, analogue effects and drum machines to craft brittle, precise minimal pop songs inhabited by her haunting, echoed voice. It’s got a bit of a modular post-dub warmth to it which is a little reminiscent of Peaking Lights, but at the same time it’s quite distant and dreamy.

Even at the more upbeat moments like ‘Work’ there’s a shuffling metronomic simplicity that’s reminding me of the Pet Shop Boys a little, and maybe Alice Cohen, but with an mystical modern slo-mo touch that recalls the likes of Julia Holter or even Laurel Halo. It’s pop that’s stripped back, gently propulsive, sliding under your skin and sneaking into your subconscious with its simple warm melodies paired with cold, hard repetition for languorous computer-age spirituals which are both hypnotically soothing and seductively eerie.