Sound of Ceres

Sound of Ceres formed in New York during the mid-2010s as a dream pop ensemble distinguished by its abstract stylistic collage and thematically ambitious projects. The group arose once creative and marital partners K and Ryan Hover parted ways with Candy Claws, the Colorado shoegaze trio in which they had previously participated. Following three albums plus assorted additional dream-like shoegaze recordings with that earlier outfit, the Colorado natives Karen—known simply as K—and Ryan established the new project in 2014. Their approach retained a comparable atmospheric sensibility yet adopted a more expansive scope that incorporated electronics, psychedelia, and classical motifs, aided by an extensive roster of collaborators that included Jacob Graham of the Drums, Apples in Stereo members Robert Schneider, John Ferguson, and Ben Phelan, plus Derrick Bozich. The band performed live throughout 2015 before issuing its initial track, “Solar Mirror Anthology, Vol. 6,” on Flannelgraph Records in 2016 while completing work on a full-length debut for Joyful Noise.

That first album, the expansive Nostalgia for Infinity, surfaced in March 2016 and drew upon an unusually wide array of sources that ranged from classic bossa nova to themes extracted from Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, the latter element prompted by a close reading of “The Girl from Ipanema.” After devoting much of the year to touring, the Hovers commenced writing for a follow-up once Ryan encountered Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain; an initial set of arrangements later underwent substantial revision during sessions in Iceland with producer Alex Somers, known for work with Julianna Barwick and Sigur Rós. Guitars were largely supplanted by synthesizers and the overall palette rendered colder, yielding the science-fiction-themed The Twin, which arrived in late 2017 accompanied by an elaborate stage presentation featuring costumes and illusionists.

Five years afterward, the Hovers returned with their most ambitious statement to date, the June 2022 release Emerald Sea. Developed in tandem with performance artist Marina Abramović, the abstract, orchestrally driven concept album centers on two celestial deities voiced by Abramović as the Universe and K as Venus. Its sonic and thematic framework additionally referenced Maurice Ravel’s ballet Daphnis et Chloé, Gustav Holst’s The Planets, and the loungey exotica associated with Les Baxter.