B-Side Guys

Dream logic meets breakup reality across thirty-five minutes of genre-defying electronics. Ry Mohon’s Chloe Navarre project constructs surreal playground where heartbreak collides with video game aesthetics, creating twelve tracks that feel equally suited for late-night contemplation and soundtrack work. The Santa Fe desert upbringing shows in the spacious, eerie atmospherics that thread through Periwinkle’s kaleidoscope of trance, electronica, glitch hop, house, and ambient textures.

The album opens with its title track, anchored in childhood dream imagery that sets the entire collection’s tone. The recurring dream of observing a mid-century modern hotel suite above Pensacola Beach, bathed in dawn’s periwinkle light, provides perfect metaphor for the album’s suspended-between-worlds feeling.

“Best Left Unsaid” drops immediately into relationship dissolution territory, but the electronic framework transforms typical breakup fare into something more complex. The juxtaposition of domestic imagery—Sunday breakfast in bed, walking the dog park—against the glitchy production creates emotional dissonance that mirrors actual relationship confusion. When Mohon sings about words being “better left unsaid,” the digital processing makes even the vocals feel partially obscured.

The paralysis theme reaches full expression on “Petrolized,” where sleep paralysis becomes metaphor for emotional stuckness. The track captures that specific terror of being conscious but unable to move, trapped “inside the walls of my physicality.” The mundane restaurant dialogue spliced into the track—ordering pancakes with “the smile on the side”—adds surreal humor that keeps the anxiety from becoming overwhelming.

“CundinshunLouvre” plays with conditional love through fragmented electronics that mirror the fractured communication it describes. The sci-fi narrative elements about signals coming from within the body connect personal relationship struggles to broader themes of internal/external reality breakdown. The nonsense names “Kann and Wildo” feel like glitched placeholder text, adding to the track’s digital alienation.

Mohon’s influences become most apparent on tracks like “Solid Proof,” where the Aphex Twin comparison makes complete sense. The combination of paranoid lyricism with unpredictable rhythmic shifts creates the same unsettling beauty that made Richard James famous. References to “favorite PacMan ghost and Teletubby” ground the existential anxiety in specific pop culture touchstones.

“Analemma” provides one of the album’s most straightforward love songs, but even here the astronomical reference—the figure-8 pattern the sun makes over a year—adds scientific precision to romantic sentiment. The brevity of the lyrics creates space for the electronic arrangements to breathe and develop.

The album’s middle section explores identity questions through tracks like “Impressions oof Jen,” which examines mimicry and authenticity in relationships. The idea of doing impressions as both compliment and violation captures contemporary anxieties about social media performance and authentic self-expression. The mockingbird metaphor works because it acknowledges both the flattery and the potential creepiness of imitation.

“Doubt of the Benefit” ventures into full sci-fi territory with its vision of planet Bbravana, complete with moonbounce kitchens and Germanese-speaking robots. The extended narrative about Galactic Romeo and honeycomb UV protection creates alternate reality that comments on our current environmental and technological challenges. The track functions as intermission while advancing the album’s themes about alternate possibilities.

Later tracks like “DeadCloud” and “Mañana Boi” continue exploring themes of stasis and procrastination. “DeadCloud’s” garden imagery mixed with celestial metaphors creates beautiful contradiction—growing constellations from earth-bound seeds. “Mañana Boi” captures specific masculine anxiety about delayed gratification and missed opportunities with humor that prevents self-pity.

The album closes with “LE Back” and “Twilight Toke,” returning to more intimate relationship territory. “LE Back” uses moonlight imagery to transform insomnia into something approaching revelation, while “Twilight Toke” positions romantic connection as transformative fire. The closing quote about saving oneself before saving the world provides philosophical conclusion without false resolution.

Production throughout maintains coherent aesthetic despite the genre-hopping. The Santa Fe desert influences create spaciousness that allows each element room to breathe, while the video game soundtrack DNA keeps things dynamic and engaging. Critical recognition comparing the project to Aphex Twin and Gorillaz feels earned—Mohon shares their ability to make experimental electronics feel emotionally immediate.

The thirty-five minute runtime works perfectly for material this dense with ideas. Longer duration might overwhelm listeners with sensory information; shorter length wouldn’t allow sufficient space for the various genre explorations to develop properly. The twelve-track structure provides natural breathing points between different emotional and musical territories.

What makes Periwinkle successful is Mohon’s ability to ground abstract electronic experimentation in specific emotional experiences. The breakup songs don’t disappear into the digital processing—they’re enhanced by it, creating new languages for contemporary relationship confusion. The video game influences serve the emotional content rather than overwhelming it.

The album works equally well as background music for contemplative moments and focused listening for electronic music enthusiasts. That versatility reflects sophisticated understanding of how different audiences engage with experimental music. Mohon has created something that rewards both casual and deep engagement.

Most importantly, Periwinkle treats electronic music as legitimate vehicle for processing complex emotional states rather than mere technological showcase. The desert influences, childhood dreams, and relationship struggles all find appropriate expression through digital means, creating collection that feels both futuristic and deeply human.

Chloe Navarre has established distinctive voice within contemporary electronic music, one capable of sustained artistic development while maintaining the accessibility that makes experimental music worth pursuing. Periwinkle provides foundation for future exploration while serving immediate needs for both emotional processing and pure listening pleasure.