Pure Violet (Hundredth’s Chadwick Johnson)
Unveils First New Music
Stereogum Premieres “Garden” and “Numb”
Hundredth frontman, Chadwick Johnson, has unveiled his new solo project, Pure Violet, and shared the first taste of music under the moniker. Stereogum premiered the brand new singles “Garden” and “Numb” two potent cuts of dreamy sonic escapism.
https://www.stereogum.com/1970661/pure-violet-garden-numb/premiere/
Early this year Hundredth released their pivotal new album, RARE, which saw the band deftly veering from their hardcore beginnings into new melodic territory. The album’s kinetic brand of shoegaze-inflected alternative hinted at a much broader musical palette and Pure Violet finds Johnson expanding even further into this new melodic territory. “Numb” and “Garden” perfectly capture Pure Violet‘s gloomy pop sound, blending crisp electronic drum beats with warm synthesizers as Johnson’s reverb-laden voice falls in and out.
Stereogum warmly praised the new tracks saying “in both texture and tone, they immediately recall some of the best post-punk, dream-pop, and shoegaze bands of the ’80s and ’90s: Slowdive, Cocteau Twins, Chameleons, the Cure, New Order… They’re rhythmic and melodic and melancholy and otherworldly.” And adding that “even if these wind up being the only two songs ever released by Pure Violet, they’ll still be two perfectly wistful, spectral, beautiful songs.”
Johnson’s patience has paid off as Pure Violet’s debut singles “Garden” and “Violet” sound fully formed and striking in their effortless catchiness. Blending crisp electronic beats with warm synths and reverb-heavy guitars, Pure Violet’s gloomy pop manages to reference atmospheric post-punk classics with a distinctly modern touch. From the brooding starkness of “Garden” or the bouncy earworm “Numb,” these two tracks are a promising start to Johnson’s solo output. Pure Violet may be trying to pursue the intangible, but with music like this you won’t want the chase to end.
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