Sometimes life is too big to be contained by reality. To understand our greatest struggles, dreams, and feelings, we weave them into fantastical stories that bring magic to everyday life -- and, in turn, inspire us to make the world we live in a better place. Video games are some of the most vivid and accessible forms of this kind of storytelling and serve as inspiration for
Purity Ring
's self-titled fourth album. Conceived as the soundtrack to an imaginary Final Fantasy X-style RPG in which
Corin Roddick
and
Megan James
try to heal the world -- and themselves --
conjures a realm where grief, hope, and longing become epic quests. Like
Nobuo Uematsu
,
Masashi Hamauzu
, and
Junya Nakano
, the composers of Final Fantasy X's score,
James
Roddick
achieve some impressive world-building with the album's sonics. Strings, acoustic guitar (a rarity in
's music), and layers of electronics paint majestic landscapes of wind, waves, and mountains. Each song feels like a level in the game, from the amniotic prologue "Relict," where
realizes "Nobody's coming to save us," to "MJ Odyssey," a cascading piano instrumental with an earnest melody that will feel instantly familiar to RPG fans. That goes double for the standout "Many Lives," which contrasts regal choral vocals with the rushing wonder of an anime soundtrack.
's grounding in the sounds of the late '90s and early 2000s extends beyond the work of
Uematsu
to the icicle twinkle of
Björk
's
Vespertine
and the era's skittering breakbeats and dance-pop;
have rarely sounded as kinetic as they do on "Place of My Own." The light touch they use on the album is especially effective on its songs about death and other separations. On "Red the Sunrise," grieving is a natural process that's moving in more ways than one, while "Iamanocean" and "Glacier :: In Memory of RS ::" honor what's gone while holding space for transformation.
' music has always been transporting, but exactly where they take their listeners hasn't always been so clearly defined. With its artful use of nostalgia and fantasy, not to escape reality but to inspire a better one,
is an undeniable level-up. ~ Heather Phares