With Crystal Lake's debut EP, Remission, Carlos Cooper serves as sole musician, producer (excluding a final master from The Loop Studio's Wayne Maroney), and promoter to a record that is endearing in the raw simplicity of its tracking and the thoughtfulness of its composition. Introducing Remission, "Welcome to Hellmouth" offers a guitar-laden track which is catchy, brief, and touching, drawing the listener into the greater body of the EP. From "Fluorescent" to "Is That What You Call a Getaway," the tempo ebbs, and the record invokes the feeling of plunging into a deep lake from a high ledge. Reemerging to the initial pace, "Accretionary-Wedge Complex" ties together the EP as a cohesive experience, leading to the somber conclusion of the title track and its final words, "I can't stop thinking about everything between then and now, about how this is all my fault."

Lyrically, the EP is an ongoing examination of a strained interpersonal relationship, but is conscientiously neither consistently accusatory nor self-deprecating. Instead, the crests and troughs of an emotional connection are queued and individually explored. Youthful, visceral words compliment the equally stripped and honest recordings. In its entirety, Remission purposefully captures the characterizing flaws and flubs of a passionate performance– a trait that sits in different camps for different people.

The promise of Crystal Lake's debut is unmistakable: whether you love the honesty of the record or cannot seem relate to the display of the recordings' bumps and bruises, Cooper has solely created an emotive release eluding to future music that will connect with hearts and minds for its intrinsic humanity.

Listen to Remissions here.