“Am I the perfect picture that you wanted before?/ I’m not quite sure,” quavers the absorbing voice of Maine’s Genevieve Stokes on Surface Tension, her performance unequivocally flawless. This, her most polished effort to date, also makes for her most impressive, as piano reminiscent of Patrick Watson soon gives way to stark guitar and spectral tinges of backing vocal recalling Feist’s spartan Let It Die. But it’s Stokes’ lead – loathed though I am to draw the comparison, think Billie Eilish digesting an entire End of the Road bill – which sets this one apart and truly startles. Remarkably composed, in spite of its title and Stokes’ scant years, Surface Tension is superb.
First Transmission: Genevieve Stokes, Surface Tension.
