PIXI INK – EP REVIEW


Pixi Ink – Blue Ink EP 
Pixi Ink - Blue Ink EP

Release Date: 14th December 2018

If moody, lo-fi trip-hop with a dark, treacly edge is your thing then you’ve knocked on the right door my friend. Pixi Ink is an Irish singer-songwriter currently based in the UK and this debut collection is about as bold and brave as they come. ‘Leave the Door Ajar’ is the menacing opening track that would work well on an indie psycho-thriller film soundtrack with its mix of Portishead atmospherics and 12 Rounds deadpan vocals. At least with ‘Old Friend’ there is a bit more sprinkled optimism, like the sunlight through tattered net curtains the afternoon after the night before, slowly sweating the alcohol out through your skin before the bitter realisation of your actions sets in during the second movement.

On ‘Paper Dreams’, Pixi Ink follows a Lana Del Rey meets Lordes pattern with breathy vocals and dream-like atmospherics while ‘Tragic Tale’ has a skittish quality like the opening credits of a spy movie full of energy, mischief and illusion. ‘Sunrise’ lives up to its name with a vibe that builds like the warmth and light spreading across a green landscape during those early moments of the day which is hard to reconcile because I would normally have classified this as urban, night time music full of neon and the darkest shades of black. The EP closes out with ‘How Evergreen’ which is like a darker, moodier Morcheeba embracing those trip-hop tendencies and behaving like Tricky, skulking in a corner with just a single lightbulb flickering from a noose-like cord for company. There is darkness and light on this EP with bold moves at every turn – particularly for a debut. Keep an eye on this one or she’ll give you the slip.