Sometimes you need to swing back to move forward, and Rezz has never sounded more comfortable in her own twisted skin than in her new album, As The Pendulum Swings.
Out now via the electronic music superstar’s own HypnoVizion label, her fifth album reminds us why she first became the genre’s reigning queen of hypnotic darkness. However, by producing with more of an experimental approach than ever, she proves that darkness isn’t the absence of light, but rather the presence of truth stripped of its comfortable disguises.
The album’s titular pendulum becomes a metaphor for the cyclical nature of Rezz’s career. The Canadian beatsmith who sent shivers to our toes with 2016’s breakout “Edge” has grown into one of the scene’s most beloved artists, only to release an album nearly a decade later that teeters on the same ledge and dares listeners to lean forward.
“As The Pendulum Swings is a more mature version of my project,” Rezz says. “It reflects where I am in life as a 30-year-old.”
As The Pendulum Swings reinforces the idea that Rezz’s greatest strength lies not in her ability to make us dance, but in her capacity to make us confront what we’re dancing away from. Look no further than “Running From Yourself,” a track that plays like a horror movie trailer for your own life. An eerie vocal breath sample sets the scene before she uncorks a writhing drop that channels the industrial French electro of Justice.
“INCANTATION” finds Rezz collaborating with her wife fknsyd, proving that couples who make electronic music together stay together. Her whispered vocals slither through spine-tingling soundscapes while distorted bass bubbles up like toxic sludge from a polluted swamp.
Longtime fans will find solace in “Substance,” a collaboration with k?d. The pulsing track is vintage Rezz filtered through years of artistic evolution, a midtempo monster that could soundtrack Wesley Snipes carving through vampires in Blade.
The same goes for “HOW I DO IT,” which is perhaps the album’s masterpiece. Here, Dillon Francis contributes his trademark moombahton weirdness while French producer BRVMES adds layers of filthy electro.
Even when Rezz gets playful on “Blue People,” there’s an underlying darkness that never quite disappears. With languid breakbeats and wubby bass, the track propels with the kind of mesmerizing flourishes that could land her a Blue Man Group audition.
All said and done, Rezz’s production suggests that wisdom isn’t the absence of confusion, but the presence of clarity that emerges from embracing uncertainty. Whatever direction her pendulum swings, she knows which direction feels like home.
“I feel I have the clearest vision and desires and musically,” she explains. “This album plays a major role in that, as well as the aesthetics to my visual content and performances. This album means a lot to me because there’s quite a few old songs that were revamped for this. It feels nostalgic but also new. It really showcases the type of music I’m currently influenced by, which feels great to say. I feel like I’ve evolved in the quality of the songs, and the direction is very specific.”
You can listen to As The Pendulum Swings below and find the new album on streaming platforms here.
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