Kyoto’s Toxxies are an electronic duo, mixing at-times shimmering, at-times hazed out sounds with female vocals that, based on the pair’s output to date, are left relatively untouched by technology. Many of their creations so far — all signs point to this project having started earlier this year — carry a shadowy side to them, whether it be conveyed via the bass-guided strut of “Welcome Box” (complete with stuttered vocals, really pushing the unease), to the electro lurch of “You.” This is a group who features a member taking the breezed-out “Suisei” by Tofubeats and warps it into something that feels like a creepily animated CGI beast.
Toxxies do the shadowy electro-pop well, but when they let light into these dark rooms, they are equally thrilling. “Stay Gold” (above) is their — well, so far, at least — most joyful release, a burbling electro-pop cut that uses its kitchen-sink vibe not to unsettle, but to build up the giddy atmosphere that leads to a nice payoff. They pull a similar — albeit one requiring more time to come to fruition — on newest song “Rewind,” a slow start simply leads to a dizzying EDM-inspired (or, well, Yasutaka-Nakata-esque) blizzard. Listen below, and keep an eye on these two.