Model/Actriz - Pirouette

“It’s all the days I starved for the dramaturgy,” sings Cole Haden over pulsating percussion on opening track ‘Vespers’, offering an immediate glimpse into the unrelenting spirit of Model/Actriz’s second full-length, ‘Pirouette’. The metallic boogie of ‘Cinderella’ has Cole recalling his desire for a princess-themed birthday party as a young child, but backpedalling due to societal pressure. By contrast, striking highlight ‘Diva’ sees the frontman at his most self-assured and bragadocious: “I’m such a fucking bitch / Girl, you don’t even know / Just imagine me absolutely soaked / Dripping head to toe in Prada Sport.” Elsewhere, the musically-sparse spoken-word ‘Headlights’ recounts him coming out to a female friend and spending time with her to get close to a mutual male friend he had a crush on, all while an ominous synth hums in and out. Cole’s vocals are often wrought with feeling yet at other moments, his deadpan delivery complements the frenzied instrumentals, in particular on the all-guns-blazing ‘Audience’ and ‘Ring Road’. Several tracks lean into the sweaty, visceral atmosphere of the downtown New York club scene. ‘Poppy’, especially enlists elements of house and techno. Meanwhile, synthesisers, cymbals, and staccato guitars clink and clatter, generating a near-industrial cacophony. The slow crawl of ‘Acid Rain’ and closer ‘Baton’ offer tender moments of relief on an electrifying second record on which Model/Actriz utilise chaos to amplify moments of vulnerability.