When Hundred Waters released their self-titled debut in 2012, they were slapped on the label ‘folktronica’, as it seemed to most closely fit the band’s interesting and now signature mesh of electronic and acoustic sounds. Their follow-up release The Moon Rang Like A Bell saw the band refining the same vaguely electro-folk sound to much critical acclaim. Personally, The Moon Rang Like A Bell seemed to have much more in common with sheer synth-pop acts like Imogen Heap, or a mellowed-out version of Francis & The Lights. Even only looking at their live set up – it’s like 20 different sampling machines and half an acoustic drum set.

But that was also kind of the cool thing about them – it allowed legitimate discussion as to where they fit in, seeing as they didn’t sound exactly like anyone else, other than themselves. Communicating, thankfully, continues to showcase Hundred Waters’ knack for sounding familiar-ish, yet unique.

Communicating, their third album, continues the usual lyrical themes of the band. Themes relating to self-doubt and an inter-personal relationship with a very ill-defined significant other. Opener ‘Particle’ laments a break-up, with just a hint of disassociation thrown in there for good-measure. ‘Blanket Me’ treads similar grounds, but vocalist Nicole Miglis now poetically referring to the vague significant other as her blanket, asking him/her to “blanket her”.

While these concepts might sound somewhat trite written out, vocally Miglis’ manages to make it all come across as genuinely lyrical and heart-breaking. Her voice is soft and forlorn, sometimes almost too much so. Some cuts on the album could benefit from a livelier (or even angrier) vocal performance as the mellowness does tend to lull you into a state similar to that of listening to Majestic Casual’s YouTube mixes for a good hour. And Miglis does demonstrate that she is definitely able to do this, such as in the cathartic culmination of the aforementioned ‘Blanket Me’.

Hundred Waters seems to pull from a slightly more diverse base of influences this time around. Throughout Communicating, you could hear subtle jazz nods or almost indie and/or shoegaze sounding hooks. It’s all for the better too, as it led to songs that, despite being really well-crafted, would never have fit on their previous releases. Like one of the personal highlight songs – ‘Prison Guard’. It makes you think just a little of The National in their Boxer era. The soft piano on top of the marching snare, with melancholic vocals on top, might have something to do with it. Another example is ‘At Home & In My Head’, which brings together the things that Hundred Waters are already renowned for, such as harmonising and excellent use of sampling, and also the newfound elements of jazz and something along the lines of rock.

Communicating is a very smart move from Hundred Waters, whose “big break” after their sophomore release was signing to a label led by EDM big-hitter Skrillex and subsequently getting an extremely popular remix from him. They stuck to their soft electronic nature, while stepping into new, non-EDM territories just enough to make themselves relevant and interesting all over again. (8/10) (Ellie Wolf)

Listen to Communicating by Hundred Waters here via Spotify, and tell us what you think below!