Like many a metaphor for womanhood to come out of art, be it musical or visual, things get bloody. Megan James doesn't mince words when describing the dark liquid that stains her bedsheets, but the songs containing those words betray wonder and wisdom, not horror. Part of that is due to James' delivery. Childlike yet ageless, it accurately depicts the sense of discovery and knowledge that can only come with the maturity achieved after adolescent transformation. The other part comes from Corin Roddick's production. It's still distinctly Purity Ring, but after attempting immediacy with the last album, his work on WOMB sounds more expansive yet also more patient, almost as if working together with James to demystify adulthood and femininity without downplaying the weight of either.
That said, this patience will also make you realize how good this duo was at bangers in the past. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the relative bombast of numbers like "Belispeak" or "Begin Again" this time around. Nevertheless, the highlights here reward repeat listens. "i like the devil" is a pleasant early surprise whose spiraling lumber of percussion and piano hints at new paths yet to be fully explored. Later on, "silkspun"'s somnambulist shuffle sounds like a sinister twin to recent Dua Lipa single "Physical," and closer "stardew," does CHVRCHES better than anything on Love is Dead did.
After Another Eternity hinted that the musical climate may have already caught up to Purity Ring in record time, WOMB proves them to still be a group with fertile, fruitful ideas well worth getting lost in for a few. Here's hoping it doesn't take another eternity for their next batch of them to gestate.
Purity Ring's Philadelphia date at Union Transfer has been postponed, with a new date TBD.