Without Your Love

By the time Christopher Dexter Greenspan released Without Your Love, his first full-length album as oOoOO, most of the other acts affiliated with the late-2000s movement known as witch house had either evolved past it or been forgotten. Like Balam Acab, oOoOO moved on from the style's contrived beginnings, refining his sound over the course of several EPs until his music was less like witch house and more like ghostly R&B (or a sleek update of trip-hop). Either way, Greenspan mixes dark electronic sounds and R&B influences compellingly on Without Your Love, whether he pairs samples of a soulful melody with rumbling textures on "Misunderstood" or a precise bassline and beats with eerie chittering and distortion on "The South." oOoOO's sound has grown more restrained with each release, to the point where Greenspan's palette of sounds is nearly as monochromatic as the album's black-and-grey artwork on tracks like "On It." However, he doesn't completely forsake drama for subtlety, as the busy signal mixed into "Sirens"' gloom or the dubstep-tinged bass on "Mouchette" show. Pieces like these, as well as the more abstract "3:51 AM" and "5:51," capture the dead-of-night emptiness when heartbreak hits the hardest. Still, Without Your Love's most haunting moments are its beautifully broken pop songs, like the powerfully simple title track, "Stay Here," and the shimmering finale "Across a Sea." An impressive first full-length from an artist equally adept at intricate productions and affecting songwriting, Without Your Love brings all of Greenspan's talents together in a satisfying whole. ~ Heather Phares