Album Review: lemin mourns that “petey passed away”

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing shattered ceramics with strands of gold. It is a beautiful, material technique that, in some ways, embodies bereavement. The loss of someone shatters us, and time, memories, and a determination to feel happy again weaves in between our broken pieces like emotional strands of gold. For lemin, petey passed away is her ambient take on grief, and, on November 13, it is a beautiful embracing of it.
lemin. – petey passed away (Official Album Trailer)

lemin is 100% different. Some will hear petey passed away and think, “What?” While others will find it stunning and quieting. I kind of compare the record’s divisiveness between people that love art museums and people that don’t. Some people, like myself, could spend hours looking at art and memorizing every color, shape, and possible stories a painting can convey. Meanwhile, my boyfriend will probably be at the food court waiting or checking if Hugo Boss has a sale until I’m finished. We all find beauty in different places whether it be at the sale section of a luxury retailer or The Met. The point is lemin didn’t make this album to have everyone love and appreciate her, which is why the many that do will love her more.
lemin. – tv

From “inch” to “decide,” this album is 100% an aesthetic. It goes beyond vibes to feel like a taste; a fashion you wear, a food you relish, and a place you wish to see. lemin treats music like the outer choice for what is happening inward, which makes sense why Kintsugi was an inspiration. Again, it is a “look” or material remedy that symbolizes a soulful/ heartbreaking act. Thus, every rhythm and melody throughout petey passed away is gorgeously somber. This is a melancholic record, of which lemin drops her vocals like a dove’s feather landing on a grave. She embraces morbidity with such a grace that you are reminded loss is as much bound to gain as gain is bound to loss.