Photo by Corinne Schiavone

2023’s honors for best breakthrough artist was undoubtedly crushed, the dreamy trip-hop-pop spell formed by the collaboration of Temple of Angels’ Bre Morrell and Weekend’s Shaun Durkan. extra life, arguably the year’s best EP, played out like a fully formed synthesis of romantic mood and brood that popped perfectly for the natural release of serotonin and synesthesia throughout the body. Initially released on cassette through Funeral Party Records, Ghostly International has made the savvy decision to sign the duo and re-release the effort on vinyl (although, given their appropriation for ’90s aesthetics, a CD run would be both fitting and greatly appreciated as well…) in an expanded form featuring two additional remixes by NYC-based producer and recent Ela Minus collaborator, DJ Python, and the UK electronic band, Real Lies. In DJ Python’s gaze, the EP’s centerpiece “milksugar” is draped beneath a lush, layered deconstructed tapestry where Morell’s vocals are now further into the atmosphere with the listen becoming all the more transcendent into the air.

crushed’s extra life LP will be released March 15th on Ghostly International.