Stream Kelly Lee Owens’ Debut Album + “Anxi” Video
We’re less than a week out from the release of London producer Kelly Lee Owens’ self-titled debut album. Not only is the whole project streaming in advance, she’s also shared a video today for the Jenny Hval collab “Anxi” created by animator Kim Hiorthøy.
As that track and lead single “CBM” demonstrate, Owens makes dance tracks that feel like nightmarish daydreams. Her songs tend to accentuate their eerie head-trip atmospherics without losing their rhythmic propulsion. Consider “Lucid,” on which dense clouds of sonic fog eventually dissipate to make way for frenetic neon burbles. The subsequent “Evolution” and “Bird” find those components coexisting gorgeously.
Owens has a way of taking familiar elements — be it Junior Boys’ post-midnight rumination techno, Grimes’ digital fantasy vocal stylings, the same stack of krautrock records that influenced James Murphy — and weaving them into something personal and distinct. Her album is the sound of an exciting new voice who knows exactly what she’s doing. Stream the whole thing below, where you can also watch the “Anxi” video.
Kelly Lee Owens is out 3/24 on Smalltown Supersound. Pre-order it here.