free download: mal devisa’s atmospheric indie is stunning and incomparable #soundcheck

Accompanied by little more than her bass, Western Mass-based singer songwriter Mal Devisa creates haunting atmospheres that captivate and intrigue. On her latest EP 4U, she keeps the bass mixed to front, while her impassioned voice is buried beneath an ocean of reverb. But rather than disorient, the waves of ambiance and her sonic minimalism create a breathtaking atmosphere.

By Nathan Leigh, AFROPUNK Contributor

The EP opens with “Forest,” a track that finds a midway between Meshell Ndegeocello and the lo-fi experiments of fellow Amherst native Lou Barlow. Mal Devisa’s bass tone is juxtaposed against her powerful alto, for a sound that’s spare, but never feels empty. “Obituary” and “Sunrise” follow suit, sounding almost like they were recorded on a 4 track cassette with washes of hard-panned tape hiss that are the hallmark of classic lo-fi. A big part of the appeal of lo-fi music is the way it sounds personal and utterly unique. The flaws and imperfections, the hiss, the noise, the unconventional editing choices all amount to something unlike anything else, which could have only been made by that artist. When it works, like Mal Devisa’s, it’s transcendent. Her ambient tracks invite the listener to get lost in a world that is of her own devising.

On the closing tracks, “Heart Like A Lion” and “Burnt,” Mal Devisa trades the bass for percussion without losing her command of space. “Heart Like A Lion” in particular shines with its cavernous drums giving the impression of a performance in a long abandoned hall; paint peeling, and sun barely shining through a single cracked pane of otherwise dirt and neglect stained glass. In other words, it’s stunning and incomparable.

4U is currently available on Bandcamp as a free download.