by Devon Chodzin (@bigugly)
In 2017, Dallas-area musician and visual artist Tex Patrello quietly released yellow curse, a 5-song collection of quiet but daring prog pop, a solo venture that juxtaposed the experimental and human dimensions of bedroom pop. Her evocative visual expressions and haunting command over divergent rhythms feel like wandering an extraterrestrial house of mirrors. In the years since, her limited output has taken the best of contemporary DIY slowcore and doused it in a dizzying solution of soft-spoken vocals and off-the-wall production. Now, at long last, Tex is back, debuting the first single, “Resident Evil,” off her debut album Minotaur, out May 2nd through View No Country (Bedlocked, Deadharrie).
“Resident Evil” plays in the electronic sandbox with deadpan vocals and an entropy not unlike @ or Hooky, but with a more twisted, dysfunctional foundation that is both more anxiety-inducing and rewarding. Her vocals careen between a gentle utterance and monstrously manipulated. The lyrics are just as nauseating: “Spit it, bitch, I know you love me / Oh, I know you so well / So rip some snout tonight / (For America).”