Album Review: City Girl - Siren of the Formless / Goddess of the Hollow
It is difficult to imagine that any of those who sneer at the genre known as lo-fi hip hop, who castigate it as not art but merely meaningless background noise fit only for one to study/relax to, have ever heard of City Girl, the artist who in many ways exists as the purest refutation of such baseless prejudices. To be fair, a large part of the appeal of City Girl is a refusal to be bound by the style’s usual tenets; each successive release has pushed at the limits of the genre’s potential, with 2019’s Chroma Velocity often abandoning the calming ambience entirely in favour of a more active, downtempo-influenced groove. To expect a further exploration of this new approach going forward was not uncalled for, but to be greeted with two albums at once is a surprise to say the least. Siren of the Formless and Goddess of the Holllow each represent a succinct distillation of atmosphere and emotion, artistic odysseys of quiet placidity and shimmering exuberance (respectively) that push the aforementioned artform in bold new directions. Musically separate yet thematically intertwined, the dual projects comprise an effective dyad of contrasting moods; even if the former is in many respects the superior record, both are refreshing and gratifying experiences in their own right.
Siren of the Formless is a perfect amalgamation of old and new: in terms of songwriting and style it hews much closer to Neon Impasse and the other relaxed lo-fi City Girl releases from 2018, but with an added focus on experimentation and creativity. Where that album opened with the soft, bass-heavy groove that is Ji-Eun’s Sunset, here the first sound to break free is a steady rhythm of electronic blips and synthetic strumming on Ji-Eun’s Favorite, evoking Lena Raine’s work on the Celeste soundtrack and its modern take on the nostalgic chiptune era of video game music. Compared to Goddess of the Hollow, which takes after other recent City Girl projects in its recurring use of vocals, Siren of the Formless is almost entirely instrumental; here a brief snatch of Korean serves as a transition between the aforementioned intro and a dreamy guitar passage, the separation between the two becoming more ambiguous as the track continues. While the addition of guest vocalists brought an entirely new dimension to earlier City Girl tracks, there is certainly something to be said for a back-to-basics approach to songwriting, and the level of skill on display here leaves little to be desired.
Yet even without more than the barest human presence, Siren of the Formless is from front to back teeming with life. Bright electronic noises dart in and out of the listener’s ears like the buzz of insects, and the soothing embrace of nature is conveyed by both delicate piano notes and the sounds of wind and rain peppered throughout the album. Unlike the more mass-produced brands of lo-fi which are often content to endlessly repeat the same few loops in service of tranquility, here the songs are organic and fluid in their composition. Serene Tears, Elysian Eyes is built around a couple of smooth guitar lines that function as an ersatz chorus yet varies slightly at every appearance, rewarding those listening carefully with a delightful refrain as hypnotic as it is soothing. The frivolous Silver Ribbons in Lavender Hair is a playful blend of ukulele, whimsical auxiliary percussion, and an odd sort of whistling that personifies birdsong (in love with a ghost, another artist who traffics in downtempo and chiptune music, can be felt in the track’s lighthearted spirit). At first the whistled melody may feel slightly out of place, but is soon refashioned into a beautiful piano line supported by a synth countermelody; this is merely one example of the brilliant interplay between instruments that the track employs to create an abundance of hidden depth.
Goddess of the Hollow, serving as the yin to Siren of the Formless’ yang, is by contrast an incredibly dynamic record, abound with boisterous synths and distinctly more active than the laid-back serenity of its twin. Occasionally, this approach bears unexpected fruit: the title track is a subdued and nonchalant way to open the album, relatively restrained at first before suddenly pulling back to almost nothing at the halfway point. Thudding percussion provides the backbone for a steady build of tension through pulsing vocals and glimmering synth lines, all culminating in a dazzling display of fluttering electronics that rains down upon one’s ears like falling stars, the stuttering beat a perfect counterpoint that reinvents itself continuously under the cascading melody. Snow Cloaked Princess is ostensibly one of the more sedated cuts here, yet the combination of a stellar bass groove and ambient vocal samples still maintain a unremitting presence (the electric guitar melody that acts as a bridge of sorts is another memorable moment, brief as it is). The decision to split up the two modes into separate albums is certainly an unusual one, but it is difficult to deny the effectiveness of such an approach in the face of a pair of records as consistent and homogeneous as these.
The main distinction of this album (compared to its counterpart) is the abundant use of vocals: frequent City Girl collaborator tiffi appears on four of the album’s seven tracks, her ethereal singing slotted in to fill a variety of roles. Pray opens with an elegant verse (“I call it ego, you call it pride/Get off your throne and look into my eyes”) that serves as the prelude to a dramatic explosion of vibrant electronics and percussion, whereas Dulcet Slumber employs her filtered crooning as a gentle refrain that floats in and out of the spotlight amidst a backdrop of graceful piano notes. As always, tiffi gives a universally laudable performance, though a bit more variety in guest appearances would likely have helped keep the record’s noticeably longer tracks from feeling as stale as they often do. It doesn’t exactly help that the song structures on Goddess of the Hollow are routinely less inventive than those on its sister album; the overuse of a formulaic buildup into a sudden outburst of synthetic noise tends to get old quickly, especially on less imaginative tracks like Unwind.
Though it may at first appear to be little more than a gimmick, in truth the decision to split what probably would have been one lengthier record into two more concise ones reaps many benefits for the latest City Girl endeavour(s). Despite Siren of the Formless being in many ways a better summation of City Girl’s various talents than its partner Goddess of the Hollow, both are astonishingly consistent releases, each with their own separate ambience, themes, and merits. City Girl is far from the first artist to employ such a tactic, but one would be hard-pressed to find a duet of albums as contiguous and interwoven as these, and that they originate in such an unlikely genre only adds to their appeal. If anything, these twin records only prove more certainly that the ill-founded critiques leveled against lo-fi hip hop are largely unfounded; beyond that, the only thing certain of the next City Girl release is that it will likely be even more impressive and ingenious than one could ever expect.
Siren of the Formless: 8/10
Favourite Tracks: Ji-Eun’s Favorite, In the Sunlight, Devote Ember
Goddess of the Hollow: 7.5/10
Favourite Tracks: Goddess of the Hollow, Sana’s Gloom, Unwind Part II