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Perhaps Carmen Villain was always an ambient musician disguised as a singer-songwriter. There were clues: On her debut album, 2013âs
Sleeper, the Mexican and Norwegian artist wrapped skeletal songs for guitar, drums, and voice in billowing layers of echo, like early Cat Power gone shoegaze. She leaned into her mood-setting instincts on 2017âs
Infinite Avenue, drawing out resonant tendrils of guitar like wisps of candle smoke. Then, on her third album, 2019âs
Both Lines Will Be Blue, she abandoned vocals in favor of purely instrumental excursionsâdialing up the reverb, digging into dub rhythms, using church bells and thunderclaps to add overcast drama. Villainâs new mini-album for Atlanta label Geographic Northâs