PASSING SHADES

UPC: 794811515265 Flow The Beauty's in the Waste Alibi Mute Twin Studies This Flame Earthly Ark Nevermore Group Rhoda, the solo project of Mara Barenbaum, returns to Dark Entries with ˜Passing Shades™. An integral member of the Oakland electronic music scene, Barenbaum has been writing, performing, and plunging into oneiric depths as Group Rhoda since 2009. This is the project™s fourth LP, and the third time Barenbaum has collaborated with Dark Entries; previously on the Max & Mara LP ˜Less Ness™ in 2013 and the Group Rhoda LP ˜Wilderless™ in 2017. Passing Shades is an investigation of the metaphysics of loss and the transitory nature of the material world. But it is not a grim collection; over 8 songs, Group Rhoda diverges through synthesizer-laden symphonics, four-to-the-floor inflections, and cosmic musings. Barenbaum™s striking voice and singular songcraft guide us through this labyrinth. Arpeggiated waltz šFlow› channels wisdom sought through martial arts; šEarthly Ark› sets a Margaret Atwood poem from the God Gardener™s Hymn Book to somber electronics. The vocoded canticle šNevermore› is dedicated to the memory of a beloved cat. ˜Passing Shades™ is both mystifying and revelatory. Folk forms are echoed only to detour into the alien. Each song functions as both a fragment of a larger puzzle and a koan unto itself. ˜Passing Shades™ was mastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. The sleeve was designed by Eloise Leigh, and features a hazy, clouded sky. The back cover uses a photograph by Harry Crofton. A postcard featuring a poem by Barenbaum is included, as well as a digital download.