Album Review: Jerod S. Rivera – “Virgo”
Album Review: Jerod S. Rivera – Virgo
February 3, 2021
Elise Mills
Contributing editor Elise Mills reviews the Oakland producer’s newest full length IDM-centric album
Virgo album cover
If you’re looking to immerse yourself in a tender but probing sound universe, I would suggest Virgo for your consideration. Oakland-based artist Jerod S. Rivera released his debut on January 1st of this year, gifting us an IDM album appropriate for the 11-month mark of the shutdown. This album is atmospherically rich, building dramatic tension while also restoring energy. At times, Virgo can be strangely comforting, self-reflective, and utterly vulnerable. According to his Bandcamp bio, Rivera’s “obsession with synthesizers, sci-fi, and contemporary art comprise the spirit of [his] work.” Rivera is also influenced by hip hop and techno idioms and has a background as a drummer. The album is complete with sounds from a Eurorack modular synth and vintage synthesizers, making for a lush listening experience that does not disappoint.
Oscillating between anticipation and meditation, each track conveys a haunting nostalgia and a gentle urgency to be felt and connected to. While you could passively listen to this album, Virgo makes for a potentially powerful listening session if you want it to be. Alongside pulsing rhythmic patterns, Rivera weaves a surprising tenderness throughout the album, which comes across as mysteriously vocal in timbre and speaks for itself. For me, these recurring melodic motifs help to navigate the Virgo journey. Rivera mentions in an IG post that the album “feels sci-fi, sometimes jarring, mellow and hopefully interesting too, kind of like a virgo ya know?”, which I think I get (I’m a gemini after all).
Artist Jerod S. Rivera courtesy Bandcamp
For the tracks “Three Flowers” and “Wheaties,” Rivera and 3D-artist Peter Larson give the listener a visual treat: two videos, one that conjures a pulsing liquid metal structure to float in a serene natural environment, and the other a rippling body of water. Rivera explains on Bandcamp that the “the moving liquid metal energy in the center of this environment is intended to be abstract but works with the basis of energy or life existing in various settings.”
Overall, Virgo speaks to me in the way I’d imagine a blanket made from water would feel like in a moment of welcome idleness. Rivera’s sound-blanket is refreshing, mentally invigorating, and comfy to sit with for as long as you need to recharge and get ready for the day. Whatever environment you choose to exist in as you listen, Rivera’s debut will meet you right where you are. You can check out the full album on Bandcamp with limited streaming or for purchase. Select tracks “Three Flowers,” “Cause I’m,” “Sleep Palace,” and “PolyAlloy” are also available to listen to on Soundcloud, Spotify, and Apple Music.
Favorite Tracks: “VirgoOSC” & “PolyAlloy”
Elise is a recovering 2020 graduate, sound artist, and noise lover born and raised in San Francisco. Especially interested in the metaphysicality of sound, she spends her time attempting to prototype DIY synthesizers and experimenting with (and lamenting!) the whims of magnetic tape, among other experimental electronic projects.