Trinity Vigorsky returns with full elemental power as Eartheater on Powders' orchestral electronica

She released two great singles; collaborated with artists, Lolahol, Sega Bodega, LSDXOXO, and Tony Seltzer to name a few; and became one of the faces of multiple Mugler campaigns. Her image has never been more striking as she continues her ascent.

Swelling, Disney-villain strings draw you into the latest tapestry from avant-pop tastemaker, Eartheater’s sixth album, Powders. Fans of hers will remember being left speechless by the heights she conquered on Phoenix cut, “Below The Clavicle”; immediately, Vigorsky reminds the listener that her voice remains her most elastic instrument.

Powders begins in classic Eartheater form with, “Sugarcane Switch”. Understated orchestral arrangements underlay a trip-hop beat, harking to canonical records in the genre such as Björk’s, Homogenic and Portishead’s, Dummy. Thinking it could be seen to be more of a natural successor to 2018’s, Irisiri should not lead you to believe that Powders is a step backwards; Vigorsky is simply zooming out and taking you down another path of influence. “Crushing” follows in a similar vein. Without wishing to sound like a broken record, it is strikingly similar to Björk’s, “Come To Me” from 1993’s, Debut. This is not a bad thing at all. She plays with a reverence to 90s trip-hop, whilst keeping it rooted in the sound world of Eartheater.

What has always been clear with Eartheater is that she is a master at executing her visions through a completely unique lens; however, never before has it been performed so brazenly as on Powders’ cover of System of a Down’s signature, “Chop Suey”. It couldn’t be further from what was expected of this record, and yet it makes perfect sense. Most of the track centres around her lilting voice and acoustic guitar, before breaking into an alt-rock, somewhere-between-Madonna-and-Garbage style climax. It’s such a lot of fun and really showcases Vigorsky’s commitment to extending her reach beyond genre restrictions. It contains the same magic captured in other unexpected covers of songs: like, Sonic Youth’s fuzzy rendition of The Carpenter’s, “Superstar”; and Lingua Ignota’s harrowing version of Dolly Parton’s, “Jolene. Despite being a seemingly random choice, Powders anchors itself around the inclusion of “Chop Suey”. It’s the thing that makes Eartheater such a compelling artist; no one else could pull off such a daring feat, yet she draws magic out of the way she performs.

Things pick up the pace towards the end of the record. The title track vibrates like an unholy incantation, and “Mona Lisa Moan” trickles into your consciousness. Her voice surrounds and then isolates, howling and then whispering. It’s this disorientating effect that makes the penultimate track and lead single, “Pure Smile Snake Venom” so rewarding. It thunders through the verses before twisting into a garage chorus. It’s bumpy and ethereal and is a wonderfully unexpected pivot this far along in the album. Lyrically, Eartheater has often been highly conceptual and cryptic. “Pure Smile Snake Venom” is perhaps her most vulnerable track to date, the chorus being particularly resonant; “I choose not to bite you/In spite of my venom welling up/Pure smile to soothe/Us into the future/Show me what you can do”. It’s enough to stop you in your tracks, as this is the same artist who wrote, “Don’t make me wait/You got me wet, come over/You know I got that supersoaker”. Her ever-increasing versatility as an artist is astounding and merits more recognition than she currently has.

“Salt of the Earth (H2ome)” concludes the album, an instrumental that completes the full circle of Powders. This record further displays Eartheater’s talents for creating worlds of hyper-saturated textures and sounds. Her ability to give life to elemental forces sets her apart from other artists, and never before has it sounded so effortless. Trinity Vigorsky is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of artist, offering listeners the opportunity to see the world through Eartheater’s singular expression; this album is another masterwork and continues her steady ascension.