We last caught Gordi back in 2018 at SxSW, and while it is now of course a new world for everyone, there are some things that are in the DNA. Gordi’s melancholy still infuses the melodies on her new EP, Inhuman. But I clearly hear a metaphorical first breath after escaping a locked Houdini water cell.
The songwriting is simple, yet consistently interesting. The melodic approaches she had developed a few years ago have found new ways to grow. I am happy to report that her voice still punches above all the layers of effects, which I would have again done without … but they aren’t distracting.
My favorite on this EP is “Way I Go.” The contrast between the weight of Gordi’s baritone and the laissez-faire composition is soothing, in the way that a glacier (yes, they still exist, for now) is soothing to the ground over which it smothers and calms by shear weight. And that is in no way an ironic exercise.