Opal Onyx - Delta Sands (2014)

Opal Onyx are a Brooklyn based duo set to release their debut album, "Delta Sands", later this summer on Tin Angel Records. From experimental electronic basements to psychedelic loft spaces, Opal Onyx have been welcomed, with open arms, into a diverse array of musical communities.

The music, itself, consists of slow, thick, and muddy layers of electronic ambient noise flowing beneath distorted guitar and graceful, yet, murky sounds of cello. On top of everything, captivating the air is a beautifully powerful and engrossing voice that leads us through a curious and comforting dream world where the surreal and hallucinatory are steadfast. Indeed, the world that Opal Onyx makes is one usually only experienced in a brief and fleeting encounter.

The songs are ambiguous, conceptually. But, within the ambiguity there is a curious sense of familiarity, as if the music is some kind of found relic, or pulled from a dusty archive, and yet it is entirely new. “Black & Crimson,” for example, is an atmospheric track built over a chopped sample from an old record. The sound is haunting and captivating. The vocals feel ghostlike and heavy as they lead listeners through a dark hazy dream world. “When doves release you can finally see. You don’t even need it. You’re caught in a feeling.” And indeed, listening to “Black & Crimson” is like lingering deeply into a feeling. And perhaps this is what makes the surreal and uncertain seem so close and at home when listening to Opal Onyx.