Caroline Sans has been making lush home recordings in Jupiter, Florida as Sur Back, a moniker incorporating the Turkish word for “steer” or “lead” and implicating an intricate narrative that speaks to the sharp vision of its creator. Freshly 21 years old, Sans has cultivated a sound that belies her years, a careful blend of New Wave-inspired electropop and baroque pop with plenty of intermittent electric guitar licks. She’s offered up a dazzling new track from her forthcoming debut full-length Kitsch after the self-release of her first single earlier this year.
“Occam’s Razor” smoothly crosses over from cool minimalist synthpop into something much more searing. It mashes growling synth sounds and pops of percussion with a glistening guitar line that expands out into bright, warm layers. Meanwhile, there’s Sans’s voice, gripping from the moment it comes into play, both smooth and jarring like Annie Clark’s but perhaps even more jolting at times. Sans has said of her music that she hopes it will lead listeners “back to their own moments of peace or joy, or make them suddenly understand their own thoughts as well as the thoughts of their neighbors.” Hardly an unreasonable hope—listening to Sur Back is a lucid, immersive experience. We can expect Kitsch sometime in 2015; until then, here’s hoping the compulsive repeat plays tide us over.
