A mix of dreamy electropop and much headier trip-hop, “Light Decline” by Great Area (stylized as great area) is a short but powerful album. It is packed with unique sounds on every track that made this album’s short length feel deceptively longer. At the end of the 16 minute run time I found myself wanting more. Somehow though, this album didn’t feel incomplete. It felt as though it was exactly as long as it needed to be. Despite its diminutive runtime it is a complete thought, each song presents its own unique spin on the artist’s musical style.
The album opens with samples of robotic beeping, like a machine repeatedly starting up. After a few seconds of this, synths hum to life in the background and the singer cuts in, voice deep and hypnotic. While it is clear she is an excellent singer, her voice is almost completely monotone. Some of the singing on the album feels much more akin to chanting. Combined with electronic elements that create a world of dreamy nostalgia, the singer pulls the song in a more pessimistic direction, her voice forces you to pay attention.
Great Area is a solo act by visual artist Georgie Nettell. Her visual works deal with an ironic twist on nostalgia or counterculture, often juxtaposing each with the names or logos of brands in order to critique the degree to which consumer capitalism influences our lives. Her brand of wry, cynical interrogation of different parts of mundane daily life is present all over Light Decline. Despite how uplifting and airy the synths feel, the lyrics and way that the lyrics are sung has an almost oppressiveness to it. In this way her audio art matches her visual art. Artists who are of many mediums can say the same thing in different ways. Perhaps if not able to reach people through the sight of her messages, she can sing it to them in this concise and excellent album.