Autre Ne Veut

French for "I think of none other," New York's enigmatic Arthur Ashin, also known as Autre Ne Veut, makes music that falls somewhere between '80s R&B hooks and melodies and the blurry sounds of Ariel Pink. His self-titled debut album arrived in August 2010 on Olde English Spelling Bee and Upstairs, the label owned by Oneohtrix Point Never's Daniel Lopatin. Autre Ne Veut supported Hooray for Earth during their residency at Piano's that fall, and played some shows with Zambri and Mirror Mirror in early 2011. That year, Ashin also released the Body EP via Hippos in Tanks and appeared on Ford & Lopatin's Channel Pressure. When interviewed by Altered Zones blogger Richard MacFarlane about his sound, Ashin has this to say: "The earliest ANV sound that I was really happy with-- perhaps best exemplified by “Tell Me”, “Loveline”, and “Emotional” [from Autre Ne Veut]-- was, aesthetically, the culmination of attempting to merge an intellectual respect for sound-craft with an affinity for traditional, popular song-craft. The results are a failure, but in my estimation a happy one. Since then, the sound has been a function of attempting (and again failing) to reappropriate those initial fortunate accidents. In my mind, hypnogogia aside, this is just failure-pop." Failure pop? Weird descriptions aside, Anxiety is full of lush synths, stark beats, and rich vocals, all of which are on display on tracks like the glitchy but hopeful "Promises." This gloss nods more clearly to classic and contemporary pop and R&B than any of Autre Ne Veut's previous music, but unlike some indie artists who try to incorporate these elements into their work, it never feels superficial or ironic on Anxiety. Ashin's genuine love for these genres' roots and where they're at in the 2010s comes through at every turn, but most importantly, in his hands these sounds seem natural, and above all, personal. Anxiety is a satisfying study in paradoxes: moving toward more mainstream sounds while sounding nothing like the pop maelstrom. If anything, some of the vocal stylings are reminiscent of Hercules and the Love Affair and How to Dress Well if the vocals weren't buried in echo. This was surprisingly enjoyable. You can get to know a little more about Arthur Ashin here. Listen up: Buy here.