Listen to Golden Features’ Most Personal Work Yet, the Introspective “Sisyphus” LP

by Michael Ryan · Published July 7, 2023

Despite his breakout debut album, 2018's Sect, Golden Features' journey to his sophomore effort was hardly smooth sailing creatively.

The Australian producer's new album, Sisyphus, arrives nearly five years after his scintillating solo debut. It's certainly a prolonged period of time in the mercurial world of electronic dance music, though Features has undoubtedly made leaps in the time since, even joining ODESZA on their collaborative BRONSON project, which yielded one of 2020's most acclaimed albums.

Rather than suppress the challenges that came with creating Sisyphus, however, Features approaches the project with his heart on his sleeve. The album is deeply introspective in nature, a sonic diary of the trials and tribulations he's endured since his breakthrough. The creative lens is underpinned by the mythos of Sisyphus, a figure in Greek mythology known for cheating death twice.

Though the album tackles sensitive subject matter, it's hardly burdened in terms of its overall danceability. The opening "Vigil" marks a meditative detox of ill will as Features seamlessly splays his messaging amid morphing, modulated synths. The album proceeds to progress through the stages of reflection and healing in all its forms, from the apathetic "Vapid" to the lovelorn "Endit," with fleeting bright spots interspersed throughout.

Golden Features' ability to channel a complex array of emotions through the lens of electronic music makes Sisyphus a worthwhile listen from front-to-back. Take a listen to the ambitious album, out now by way of ODESZA's Foreign Family Collective, below.