ANAMAI is readying their Dream Baby LP for release on October 25th via Halocline Trance. The duo finds Anna Mayberry and David Psutka joining forces for their third LP under the moniker. The pair have also worked together in the Toronto-based post-punk band HSY, while Psutka has created music under the now-defunct alias Egyptrixx, as well as projects like Ceramic Tl, Act!, and LIMIT. In addition, he runs the label Halocline Trance.
Exploring the nature of intimacy through stark compositions that draw upon their previous work, as well as inspiration from artists like Harold Budd and the Bossa Nova musicians Joao Gilberto and Gal Costa, Dream Baby is filled with quiet but often unsettling confessions. The album’s title track opens with a warped voice warbling the lines: “Only babies have the softest skin/Too tender to touch without breaking it.” Loaded with connotations, the haunting insight soon seems to become a metaphor for the dangerous power dynamic in a toxic relationship. Set to a soundtrack somewhere between lullaby and dirge, “Dream Baby” draws you into its sweet embrace, before disposing of you with a poisoned kiss.
