Producers Chris Davids and Liam Ivory are from a small British village, which might be why their work as Maribou State retains a sense of the natural. Their cover art for debut album Portraits looks like an aerial shot of a forest that’s been digitally smeared, and that’s kind of how their music feels too. Tranquility and sadness aren’t things I normally seek out in electronic music, but on “Rituals” that’s exactly what I found—right before it was smashed to smithereens by a guitar solo that would be at home in a song by the War On Drugs. There still seems to be very little crossover between atmospheric dubstep, house and psychedelic electronic guitar, listening to Maribou State will make you wonder why not? A tense, spiraling guitar solo pairs wonderfully with the drop, and I’m glad someone finally figured that out. Davids and Ivory previously released a string of EPs, but Portraits is their first full-length album. Check out the full tracklist and listen below.

Portraits tracklist:
01 “Home”
02 “The Clown” (Feat. Pedestrian)
03 “Rituals”
04 “Steal” (Feat. Holly Walker)
05 “Wallflower”
06 “Say More” (Feat. Jono McCleery)
07 “Raincoats”
08 “Midas” (Feat. Holly Walker)
09 “Natural Fools”
10 “Varkala”

Portraits will be out 6/1 on Counter.