Ears Wide Open: Dove Armitage

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Dove Armitage (Photo by Sarah Pardini)

Dove Armitage blends goth with glitch-pop on her new six-track EP “Concernless,” out this Friday on KRO Records. The bass-driven electro-pop is the solo project of Quincy Larsen, a veteran bassist in the L.A scene who has played with the likes of Death Valley Girls, Cat Scan, Sextile, Future Shoxxx, Miss Jupiter and KEVIN.

“Concernless” is a vocal steppingstone for Dove compared to her first EP, “///1” (2021), a hypnotic venture into the artier side of post-punk (see “Terrorize”).

Starting off with soft-spoken vocals then dropping into a myriad of chaotic dance beats, the new EP’s opening track “Brittle” sounds like it would fit right in on the attitude-fueled soundtrack of the 2020 Harley Quinn film, “Birds of Prey.”

On her arguably best single, the energetic “It Won’t Die” (co-written and produced by Chris Greatti), Dove sings, “Chew me up, spit me out / With a blank expression / I fucking live for this,” which hints to a possible reoccurring message behind the EP: always look at the brighter side.

Produced by Liam Hall, aka Grandma, “Sex on Display” is an overdriven, moody anthem layered with catchy spoken-word melodies that solidify the comforting yet dark message behind the music, “I stroll through hell thinkin’ / what a nice day.”

“‘Sex on Display’ is a sultry poem about finding contentment in tumult,” the songwriter says of the track. “Each layer of production is intended to hypnotize the listener and send them through a hall of mirrors, a foggy forest, a cold cavern, an electric dance floor.”

||| Watch: The videos for “Sex on Display,” “It Won’t Die” and “Brittle”