BØRNS sort of came out of nowhere with his most recent single, "10,000 Emerald Pools", and we were blown away by his knack for putting together a track that would not only grab you by the collar, but do so in such a way that you had no idea you were listening so intently. The song goes for the soft sell initially, but there's no mistaking the fact that he's crafted a sound that captivates the listener. BØRNS seems to be managing his releases a bit differently, too, as he's unleashed his full project all at once rather than trickle-feed fans with new material. This onslaught of new music would normally spell a PR disaster for lesser talents—seeing as how this release strategy could potentially rob some of the songs the attention they deserve—but Candy, the EP, is an absolute masterpiece from start to finish, and there's really no way you could ignore the awesomeness that is, "Electronic Love", "Past Lives", and "Seeing Stars". All three of the new, aforementioned songs are finely tuned for maximum listening pleasure, and seeing as how they're so good, we're not really sure what he's going to come up with next; he could take this project in a multitude of directions and they would all be justified. Each track is a subtle blend of alternative-rock, indie-pop, and synth-driven sonic goodness, so to say Candy is a good start for BØRNS would be a huge understatement. The man's vocals, too, meld perfectly with his brightly lit production work, and the build up to the hook in "Past Lives" (and the intro on "Seeing Stars", for that matter) is some of the freshest, best-sounding music we've heard in a while, and for that, we'll be keeping our ear affixed on the artist. Purchase Candy on iTunes now.
BØRNS