The music Sapphire Slows conjures up on her debut EP, "True Breath," floats between genres: dance music, dream pop and ambient are just a few. However, the element uniting these five songs is really how unsettling they can sound — even at their most danceable.
Slows' tracks feel like a home for some wayward spirit who also happens to have a fondness for club music obscured by trippy effects. This puts her in tune with her labelmates on Not Not Fun (Maria Minerva, Peaking Lights), but those artists tend to keep the mood lo-fi. "True Breath" sounds a touch higher quality, while retaining that hypnotic vibe.
The first single, "Spin Lights Over You," has been attracting online attention over the past few weeks, and it serves as a solid introduction to the world of Sapphire Slows (like with many new Japanese acts, she's not divulging her real name). "Spin Lights..." features the EP's danciest sounds courtesy of its bass and party-ready percussion, which comes together to construct something resembling a strut. Still, this isn't typical dance music in any sense. Slows coats everything in a synth glow concealing myriad small details that only reveal themselves over repeated listens, making "Spin Lights..." a track you almost have to study in order to really figure everything out. Slow's voice (or whoever provides the singing) stands as the best sonic addition. The whispers that run through the EP say something that, while ultimately unintelligible, is also strange and alluring.