Most people know Maya Postepski for her work in Austra and as a former member of Trust, and her new solo album as Princess Century gives us an idea of what her contributions to those acts has been. But unlike her other projects, Progress is all moody instrumental synth songs, with no singing to distract from her elegant compositions.
You can easily hear the influence of early electronic acts like Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream, but also traces of Steve Reich’s minimalist polyrhythm experiments, the icy grooves of Nordic cosmic disco and the bleakness of first-wave Detroit techno. There’s consistency in the relatively small number of sounds she chooses to work with, which she counterbalances by taking varied approaches to the arrangements. For every fun, danceable track, there’s a more abstract one, fleshing out the album into a complete listening experience.
Top track: Sunscream