“I used to think life is suffering,” Haley Fohr began to say. “But now I think life is change.” It’s a powerful statement coming from Fohr, whose music as Circuit Des Yeux has often leaned into distress: Her transcendent 2017 record Reaching For Indigo was inspired by a spiritual exorcism of sorts; 2021’s -io was a response to the reverberating trauma of experiencing a global pandemic. But her rapturous seventh Circuit Des Yeux record Halo On The Inside, out today via Matador, is different. Gone, largely, is her distinctive 12-string guitar; in its place, a thumping four-on-the-floor heartbeat and towering synths; it might be the first time Circuit Des Yeux sounds as at home on the dance floor as in a cemetery. Calling in from the UK while on tour supporting Low’s Alan Sparhawk, the chameleonic musician spoke to Stereogum about her existential approach to songwriting, her love affair with Ableton, and why she loves Scott Walker’s fart jokes.
