World-building comes naturally to Yana Kedrina. As Kedr Livanskiy, the Moscow singer-producer has released three albums of dark, evocative electro pop rooted in a diverse spread of electronic influences: techno, IDM, garage, ambient, and more. With her ever-changing sound, Livanskiy has carved out a distinct lane for herself: an artist less beholden to explicit formalism or realism than, in her own words, the “transformation, deconstruction, and the escapism” of it all. It’s no surprise that Myrtus Myth, her fourth LP, once again represents a departure from her previous work. What is surprising, though, is the album’s general sense of restraint, even tameness, shelving Livanskiy’s signature club thump for dream pop that’s both well done and well-worn.
This is Livanskiy’s most extensive collaboration as a solo artist with Flaty; while the Gost Zvuk-affiliated producer has written and produced for her last two albums, this time around he co-wrote and produced Livanskiy’s entire record. Myrtus Myth is operatic in tone and scope, exploring grief and hopelessness as Livanskiy’s soaring vocals take us through epic scenes of beasts, angels, and the cosmos. The album embraces the idea of mythological narrative as a throughline of the human condition, exploring loss through references to stories like that of Orpheus and Eurydice and the Hindu concept of Kali Yuga (the dark age before the end of the world). Regarding the album’s subject matter, Livanskiy has noted that “the last couple of years have been incredibly difficult for many people on earth”; if a more universal message is the goal, maybe it makes sense for Myrtus Myth to show us Livanskiy at her most accessible.
Accessible can be a good thing, especially the way Livanskiy flips it. While we’ve previously heard her craft some of her catchiest hooks over woozy house grooves, like on 2019’s “Sky Kisses,” Myrtus Myth gives us some good old-fashioned, hot-off-the-airwaves capital-P Pop. On her last solo album, Liminal Soul, Livanskiy teased her straightforward pop chops on “Boy”; here, she leans more fully into ’70s- and ’80s-inspired songwriting, most notably on singles “Anna” and “Spades on Hearts.” “Agata Dreams” is tinged with a little Everything But the Girl until the beat really starts chattering. With a stronger emphasis on live instruments, these tracks come to life in a surprisingly commanding manner, suggesting a captivating stage presence rather than an infectious dancefloor buzz.
Where Myrtus Myth excels is when Livanskiy accesses the softness of dream pop within her usual electronic experiments. On the subtly jungle-influenced “Night Trains,” what might be the world’s gentlest breakbeat skitters steadily under churchlike synths and a wispy vocal refrain: “Leave on familiar trains, leaving cities.” It feels both minimal and rich, capturing the skill and assuredness in the development of her craft and style. On the flipside, “Zver” embraces a more maximal sound than before; throughout a dirgelike take on a jangle-pop melody, misty strings, brass, and vocals echo, swell, and swirl into one another like smoke. Livanskiy has previously mastered playing outside the bounds of genre convention, and to hear her experimenting within them brings a new and welcome dimension to her abilities as a songwriter and producer.
