When Baltimore/Philadelphia-based duo @ (pronounced “At”) released their debut album “Mind Palace Music” in 2023, they launched with a unique “hyperfolk” sound. Taking inspiration from modern folk-pop and 70s outsider folk songwriters, @ created a sound all their own — melding intricate studio production with lush vocal harmonies, acoustic instruments, and a penchant for the unexpected.  

Earlier this year, @ released their sophomore effort — a five-song EP titled Are You There God? It’s Me, @. It’s a dramatic shift in their overall sound that serves as their breakout into electronic music production. 

@ is the music project of Philadelphia, PA musician Victoria Rose and producer/ musician Stone Filipczak of Baltimore, MD. They formed during lockdown, sharing musical ideas and sketches back and forth via email and iMessage. This is their second release on D.C./ NY-based indie label Carpark Records. 

Are You There God? It’s Me, @ is a record with a science-fiction aesthetic written into the code of @’s songs, taking listeners through a mirror darkly to an alternate reality that reflects our own. 

The EP opens with “Processional,” a song that’s part psychedelic trance and part synth-pop jig. With its ethereal vocals and harp-like synth lines, it ascends to an apex that feels like it’s taking listeners up and out of the atmosphere. 

The lyrics are cryptic and impressionistic — like subconscious thoughts taking shape in the form of dream dialog. “Inside the old mind, it’s hard to be kind/ I’m swimming/ I’m singing/ Go to, where you want to/ But don’t stray too far (to the ends of the Earth.” 

On “Webcrawler,” @ makes full use of its intricate production process —  blending electric guitar with a heavy industrial-sounding bass synth, shimmering keys, layered vocals, and even a guitar solo that sounds like it’s from a Van Halen record. 

With all its many parts moving together like clockwork, it digs into a melodic groove that serves to underpin a cyberpunk theme that @ weaves into its song’s poignant lyrics about Internet culture and isolation. 

“Database my remains/ Open up for a phase/ I’ve been dying to see you/ When you go you should stay/ I’ll be on your domain one day/ I’ve been dying to see you/ When you go you should stay/ But you’re going away.” 

There’s existential musings at play on this EP. That’s self-evident with its title — a tongue in cheek reference to Judy Blume’s 1970 coming-of-age story “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret?” @ uses that pop culture touchstone as a launchpad for songs that search for purpose and meaning beyond the daily humdrum. 

No song better encapsulates that idea than the title track. It starts off with @ slowly building a choir made from their two voices repeating the mantra: “I can’t feel you anymore/ As long as you hide away, I can’t see you in my dreams anymore.” The vocal harmonies are angelic and tender, evoking The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds era. 

But then the song is disrupted by electronic glitches, which cuts the mics on this studio choir. The track shifts into a sunshine twee pop section reminiscent of bands like Belle & Sebastian or The Vaselines. 

“Odor in the Court” leans into a spellbinding electro-pop groove, while natural human voices meld with robotic auto-tuned vocals. The lyrics reinforce themes of digital age isolation, adding to that foundation by asking existential questions about the nature of reality.

From there, “Soul Hole” closes out the EP with a hyperpop song that cements its cyberpunk narrative. @ merges with the ghost in the machine for a bop that shifts back and forth between EDM rhythms and folk-pop melodies; a parallel to @’s own musical evolution. 

Taking elements of hyper-pop and pairing it with experimental indie rock has resulted in a record that’s wildly inventive. With avant-pop hooks, left of field engineering, and earworm melodies, Are You There God? It’s Me, @ is made for repeated listens.

Written by Chris Goudreau