By throwing out the genre rulebook, Hawk is pushing electronic music into weirder, more exciting territory, chillwave purists be damned.
These are tracks that will sound equally appropriate on your headphones while waiting for the bus as they will on a dance floor.
Grace/Confusion’s songs are of the kind that shift gears and directions drastically from one moment to the next – but Hawk has it all under control and never does it feel jarring or misjudged.
While the composition of this album may be a little scattershot for some, Hawk succeeds in making this a rewarding and distinctive listen, as well as recalling some old tricks that were sadly lacking in recent efforts.
Grace/Confusion is an aptly confounding record, its six tracks very much dissimilar to each other yet held together with a sense of grand gesturing and tireless virtuosity.
It's hard to call it an "improvement" or "progression" considering it's hardly outside the scope of what Memory Tapes has done so far.
Although crowned by Hawk’s charmlessly androgynous voice, possessed of the mood range of a plank, Grace / Confusion is, if inconsequentially and forgettably so, pleasureable.
Perfect pop songs with indie pop charm and 80’s inspired production, blister into expansive electronic explorations and swelling soundscapes.