Ivoux

Frozen (Cop International)
by Rowan-Morrison

When the Bay Area-based Battery invited Maria Azevedo to join their aggro-edged synth pop project four albums ago, they probably told their friends that they were working with the next Alison Moyet. If they didn’t, they should’ve. For Ivoux, the three members of Battery still collaborated, but the nature of this project dictated a different moniker. Rather than 242-inspired dance beats and rhythmic noise, this is a collection of haunting electronic ballads, with the infrared dot honing in on Azevedo’s enchanting octaves. The song “Sif,” for example, showcases Azevedo’s intensity as her voice overpowers all the other elements, yet doesn’t eradicate their relevance. Frozen is best described as an album of beautiful, dreamy synth songs, with Azevedo’s emotional delivery clutching listeners’ hearts like one of those mechanical hands that scoops up stuffed animals at an arcade.