Uboa

Uboa’s surprise-drop fifth album Impossible Light almost never made it out of the dark. From its initial conception in 2018, this record went to hell and back, dragging its immensity and too-big-to-hold emotion through the torturous process of translation to sound and returned triumphantly as a full-bodied record in a distinct new style. Impossible Light begins where Uboa's 2019 breakout album The Origin of My Depression left off — and ends somewhere entirely different. The Origin stunned with its methodical use of doom, harsh noise, and ambient soundscapes while documenting a raw, unhindered account of Xandra Metcalfe’s experiences with her transition and her struggles with mental health. Over time The Origin steadily grew a cult-like following which developed into a full-fledged internet community focused around noise, neurodiversity and transness. While Uboa’s signature style of highly polished, cinematic ‘hypernoise' is front and center in Impossible Light, there is also a daring departure into the genres of industrial metal/rock, setting it apart from any other Uboa release thus far and distinguishing it from other contemporary noise records. "My last record, 'The Origin of My Depression,' was fundamentally about hopelessness. Impossible light, on the other hand, isn’t. On the contrary, it's about the possibility of having a future." - Xandra Metcalfe