Named after the 1988 John Carpenter sci-fi film, They/Live creates ethereal melodic lines and haunting vocal harmonies to build complex, dystopian scenes.

They/Live is the project of Whitney Mower, an ex-Mormon musician, academic, and writer. For her second album, Nature & Structure, co-produced by Neil Wogensen (Valley Queen, Ogreta), we revisit Mower’s signature sound: emotionally sophisticated pop which investigates matters of the heart using intricate, yet austere arrangements. But here we feel Mower searching for more provocative means to express her thoughts on relationships, addiction, and late-stage capitalism—fusing 12 string guitars, acoustic piano, and other analog sounds with harder-edged electronic grooves to accompany her ever-haunting soprano vocals and lush layers of harmony.

Deepening her multi-instrumentalism and musical experimentation, we witness Mower hone in on a contemporary, surreal kind of pop within the songs of Nature & Structure. Mower wants to know how to preserve love and compassion in a dystopia. She wants to know how we reconcile our human lives under an oligarchical empire in decline.

Above all, Mower wants to know how far the pop song can take us as a device for evaluating existence and feeling alive in our skin. “Why is it so easy to pretend I’m smiling,” she asks in “Teeth Show,” then answers: “I’m American.”