Andrew Veeder on March 11th, 2015

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vōx (stylized “vōx” and pronounced “wokes”) is the moniker of Minnesota native and Los Angeles-based artist Sarah Winters, and was inspired by the Latin words she had tattooed on her fingers years prior, vōx et praetere nihil, meaning “a voice and nothing more.” But what a voice it is. In 2010, she released her debut album, “Smallest Bones,” under her own name, as well as covers of Kendrick Lamar’s “Swimming Pools” and Kanye West’s “Runaway” in the years since. As for her vōx project, only two songs have emerged from the forthcoming EP “Put the Poison In Me,” out later this spring, but each is captivating. “Money” begins with a slow build, Winters cooing the lyrics, “We’re all so hungry, bloodthirsty / come eat me,” a capella for the track’s first 30 seconds without a hint of which direction it’s going to take, before Josiah Kosier‘s production takes a dark and vibrant turn, like RL Grime or a codeine’d-out Flying Lotus, pulsating with synths and bombarded with percussion. Her vocals switch from a breathy a capella to modulated to harmonized in FKA Twigs fashion, booming with, “I want it all / I still want it all / let me make you money.” “Better,” also produced by Kosier, has vibes of Fiona Apple meets Bjork, and when her sultry voice sings, “We don’t disappear, we light up / we sing our songs to the sirens / all the fakes / all the selfish f*cks,” you can’t help but take notice. Also, her Instagram game is strong.

||| Stream: “Better” and “Money”