Azure Ray - Drawing Down the Moon

Wistful, languid dream pop is the order of the day on Azure Ray's Drawing Down the Moon (September 14, Saddle Creek), the long-awaited creative re-pairing of Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor and the duo's first new studio output since 2003's Hold On Love. Both Fink and Taylor have kept busy since their '04 split, with a variety of solo albums -- most recently with 2009 efforts LadyLuck from Taylor and Ask the Night from Fink -- and Fink has intrigued us with the fine collaborative pairings Art in Manila and last year's excellent, more experimental electronic outing O+S.

But it seems logical -- and welcome --  that Taylor and Fink are back together again. For our money (and theirs, hopefully) the combination of these two voices wrapped around a ballad of graceful, impossibly intimate melancholy is the epitome of sublime alt-pop. Recorded in the hills of Asheville, NC with producer Eric Bachmann, Drawing Down the Moon reflects both a maturity in approach and sly nod to the stylistic center, hardly mainstream fare but with subtle touches that promise the songs a wider, more commercial appeal. Lead track "Don't Leave My Mind" is a swaying slice of sweet, ethereal charms, voices entwined in delicious harmony as the percussive beats and gentle jangle swirl beneath the surface.

Azure Ray - "Don't Leave My Mind" (from Drawing Down the Moon)