Perfect World was announced via a highly stylised trailer – cinematically shot in barren, moonlike landscapes – during which atmospheric drone underscores Lastlings singer-songwriter Amy Dowdle reciting lyrics/poetry: “I fell too far in your perfect world/ But I fell up into my own/ And I ask no one to forgive me/ In a perfect world.”
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Dowdle has described Lastlings’ second album as being like her twenties diary, which documents how messy love can be. Opening track Holding Me Like Water captures a doomed relationship’s last gasps (“Been looking for you all my life/ But you’re letting me slip away…”), with Dowdle’s vulnerable vocal delivery cradled by minimal beats during its verses.
The title track’s pensive keys evoke rippling water as the spacious surrounding sonic terrain echoes and reverberates. Better Off Without You closes out with “Gotta let you go…” – repeated, mantra-like – and kisses the bargaining/denial breakup phases goodbye. Then during the gently pulsing Out My Head, Dowdle finds closure and the strength to move on: “But now I know my worth/ And you couldn’t learn.”
Josh Dowdle, the producer half of this telegenic Japanese-Australian electronic sibling duo, has said that “finding beauty in imperfection” (aka the wabi-sabi philosophy) also informed Perfect World. His production and soundscapes reflect human emotions with great accuracy throughout, mirroring the intense feelings his sister processes through song.
Label: Rose Avenue/Liberation
Release date: Out now
