Ever since Clea Anäis and Brock Geiger joined songwriting forces in 2010 to form Raleigh, they’ve been rewriting archetypes. Their latest album Fate is Criminal (2025) continues Raleigh’s propensity for breaking their own, and everyone else’s moulds. Splinters of alien transmissions reach out to deep sea creatures while a gentle guitar quietly acts as a tether for stream-of-consciousness images. The pendulum swings between icy, cold wave beats and ethereals that rise like helium through the fog of borrowed time. The whole album is sprinkled with beautiful, unexpected contradictions. With their decades of experience and abilities on full display, Fate is Criminal is a testament to Raleigh’s artistry and musicianship. Lithe voices absentmindedly and hauntingly sing of blood, fake love, fake news and dead air. A pounding sense of urgency is ever-so-finely balanced against the delicate “deep haze of the dream [that] brought your visage to me.” With collaborators Will Angus Maclellan and Nyles Spencer, Raleigh reached deep into the murk of their collective mind’s well to manifest a uniquely creative sonic treasure hunt that bears repeated listening. At times it's also groovy, melodic and soulful. It's as fun as it is dark, as warm and welcoming as the final stages of hypothermia: a perfect backdrop for the end of days.

- Chantal Vitalis