23 year old Montreal based Claire Boucher A.K.A Grimes has treated us to the first sample, Oblivion, off her forthcoming fourth full length, Visions, set to drop January 31st via Arbutus Records.  Her haunting form of phantom/pop is evolving into something a bit more cohesive than what we heard on last years Halfaxa, arguably one of the first albums born into the “Witch house” genre. She still conjures those luscious, spectral soundscapes although while Halfaxa is something you might hear walking through a haunted house, Oblivion is a song you might hear walking into a spaced out dance party. This shift seemed to begin with Vanessa the standout track from Darkbloom a split 12″  she put out alongside fellow Montreal artist d’Eon this past May.

The album artwork for Visions, created by Claire and pictured above, seems a little misleading at first. From the cover alone I would expect some black metal band or atleast something more menacing than this first sample implies, then she described her creative process as being…“the only means through which I can be fully expressive. It is both an ethereal escape from, and a violent embrace of my experience. The creative process is a quest for the ultimate sensual, mystical and cathartic experience and the vehicle for my psychic purging. Visions was conceived in a period of self-imposed cloistering during which time I did not see day-light. ”

Perhaps Oblivion is a lone shining light in an album of darkness, I hope not. Grab it below along with a couple standouts from her previous efforts and watch the entrancing video for Vanessa along with the video for Crystal ball. She’s touring this fall with Austra catch them both next weekend at Moogfest.

Grimes – Oblivion 

Grimes - Vanessa  from 2011′s Darkbloom

Grimes – Crystal Ball  from 2011′s  Darkbloom

Grimes - Devon  from 2010′s Halfaxa

video for Vanessa  directed by Claire Boucher

video for Crystal Ball  directed by Tim Kelly