Purity Ring – “Fineshrine”

on June 21, 2012

Fineshrine

True LPs wait. In an age of digital oversharing (Lil B, we’re looking at you), Purity Ring are champions of self-restraint. For all the irony that may or may not lie behind vocalist Megan James and producer Corin Roddick’s choice of stage name, it’s hard to think of a better moniker. Their first song “Ungirthed” was released in January 2011, and in the past eighteen months the two have shared a mere five songs.

“Fineshrine”, the latest offering from the forthcoming Shrines (out July 24 via 4AD Records) may be the best summation of the duo yet–we’ve all heard pop songs that hide darker lyrics, but it’s not every day that one comes across a coda that gently asks, “Cut open my sternum, and pull.” It’s at once endearing, fascinating and altogether shocking: a musical candied apple stuffed with razorblades.