By Kiah Easton, Columns Editor
[Chemical X; 2019]
Rating: 7/10

Key tracks: “High Tide”, “Super Soaker”, “Pearl Driver”

Trinity is the third full-length studio album from American multimedia artist Eartheater, a.k.a Alexandra Drewchin. Her composition is dark sludge spread thinly across the project, as each track surrounds its listener in a cloud of ambiance structured by the skeleton of experimental trap influence. Drowning in reverb and delay, Trinity rides the line between full-blown ambiance and the trap-pop hybrid that hides beneath.

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“High Tide” creeps slowly through your brain like the tide of a rising ocean. The soupy ambiance of Eartheater’s vocals and reverb-drenched synths are broken up by a prominent kick drum that provides the song’s structure. At times, the kick deteriorates into an almost melodic element through stuttery drill rolls. “High Tide” swells and crashes throughout the song. In the bridge, Eartheater’s voice takes on a reversed quality as she wails up into the drop, crashing back into the depths. The album as a whole continues with this watery motif; each song oozes and drips with a dark sense of fluidity that tickles at the back of your throat. 

“Supersoaker” is a release from the fog that coats the project. A high-pitched synth lead sparkles with sharp contrast in the context of the project, and glitchy, bright melodies flutter above upbeat trap drums. The song features Eartheater’s tightest vocal performance, as she sheds at least a small percentage of the reverb, and takes a more condensed rap delivery. The bridge breaks down into a mess of high-pitched percussive chops, feeling like the sounds are about to lift into flight before collapsing back onto the chorus.

More elemental and beat-like, “Pearl Driver” feels stripped of the dark softness found on other songs on the album. Sharp metallic claps and an unknown liquid form a machine-like soundscape. Intricate programming on a layer of descending hi-hats flavors the structure further, with the dark rumbling of an 808 acting as a backbone. Eartheater’s vocals occupy massive space within each song’s environment, in “Pearl Driver” however, the instrumentation and vocals run parallel to each other but are not completely connected. Eartheater meanders over her simplistic but hard-hitting beat with seemingly little attention in regard to where she places her words. That feels stylistic and creates a disjointed and drunken feel that mimics the dreamy, otherworldly feel of the album.

Eartheater’s Trinity is a powerful and demanding sequel to Irisiri. Her vocal delivery and uncanny production remain consistent, but this time with a slightly different flavor that represents a healthy level of artistic development. Trinity is unnerving but beautiful, summoning sensations of a cool layer of perspiration, the music of a futuristic guild of witches. Innovation has granted her a truly unique sound that is hard to find anywhere else, and a captive audience of fans find joy in her creations and eagerly await her next move.

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