After a first release (Unsummering) which was very well received, the New York duo R.Missing released their second EP, Placeholder for the Night, last December. The band has a certain notoriety since they were able to complete a European tour before everything was paralyzed by the pandemic. In addition, some of their songs have been covered by Tricky, former member of Massive Attack and by Dash Berlin. Placeholder for the Night is available on various platforms such as Spotify or for purchase on Amazon music or iTunes.
With this EP, R.Missing offers music that navigates on the waves of a rather melancholic and poetic darkwave. “Placeholder for the night,” first track of the EP, captivates by its atmospheric layers, its harmony and its magnificent melodies. The rhythmic part and the voice remain stable, but the synthetic sounds that gravitate around it are in constant evolution and give the piece a certain structural richness. “Alms” is more intimate. Electronic drums start the song. It is joined by the vocals, a voice that strikes by its purity and then by a sober guitar theme that opens the harmonic horizon of the title. Finally, “Darkness, I’ll Always Be Your Girl” offers a darker atmosphere that we are happy to listen to in a loop because of the energy that emanates from its notes and the splendid low and distorted layers that spread throughout the sound space.
Placeholder for the Night was for me a very beautiful discovery. Analyzing this EP and writing about the songs it contains was particularly difficult. Words sometimes seem to be insipid to describe music of this poetic magnitude, so powerful and so delicate at the same time.
Just listen and let it invade you.
Translation: Joanne Gagnon
