Digits :: "Where Do You Belong"

The existential crisis isn't new but it might be more delicately done these days. Or has it been recast as a litany of affirmed capitulations? We gave up, tripping into an apathetic and accidental nihilism. Wrapped in a world of consumer traditions, cacophonous digital geographies and comfortable cultural lowest common denominators, the youth aren't exactly screaming into the abyss, a moment depicted with such ham-fisted indelicacy in Garden State that it was never mentioned again. What did all mean? Whatever, relativism won and it wasn't close. Digits' latest single, "Where Do You Belong" taps this same sore spot, referencing heartbreaks and the essential and pressing question of belonging, all set against a landscape of gentle synthesizers and whispered vocals. Sounding a bit like a composition designed for a rococo-era harpsichord only, it isn't hard to imagine this 8-bit anthem describing another decline of the new acien regime, a new group of bland Marie Antoinettes representing the listlessness of the last two decades. The enemies are at the gates, the binary coded strings tell us in their most somber tones, and no one seems to give a damn. But it isn't true. The enemies have always been inside the palace and we belong out there, somewhere.

Listen :: Digits - "Where Do You Belong"

Digits :: "Rachel Marie"

Tense and claustrophobic dance music colors the interstices of "Rachel Marie", the latest single from synth-pop architect, Digits. A club track for your interior monologue, the synths are intentionally constricted, arraying themselves in these taut, little rows behind a hushed melody in the spirit, if not the bombast, of Dave Gahan. Digits never reveals much about this "Rachel Marie", another one of those proper noun pop princesses with a song about her, but the long and unrequited call in the chorus gives her all the necessary character depth. As he insists, she is the only one for him, but this is no love story; rather, it is a modern, well-shuttered message in a bottle.

Listen :: Digits - "Rachel Marie"

Digits :: "Nonstop" and "You're Going To Age"

Digits spin tight electro-pop out of Toronto in a way that makes you think Phoenix and the Postal Service got together on a new NAFTA (all free-market connotations aside). The arrangements are lush, pulsing and emoting from one moment to the next. There are moments in "You're Going To Age" that evoke the best parts of Plastic Operator and there are moments in "Nonstop" that substantiate a more organic side of Phoenix's last album. Whirring keyboard loops, shifts of pace and complex, yet not overly academic, bleeps and blips color digital soundscapes that might represent the best electronic record you've heard this year. Digits are for real, as is Hold It Close, his debut record. Check it out in long-form. It just might make you head north.

Listen :: Digits - "Nonstop"
Listen :: Digits - "You're Going To Age"