“Initially, I had rules set for Aftermath, my next album, but the songs on Powders unfolded in their own accord. I had absolutely no rules with Powders. The songs chose me—I didn’t choose them.”
—Eartheater on recording two albums simultaneously.[6]
Powders is the fifth studio album by American experimental musician Eartheater. It was released September 20, 2023, via Chemical X under exclusive license to Mad Decent.[7] It is a sister album to the upcoming album titled Aftermath, expected for release in 2024.[7]
Online retailer Bandcamp spotlighted Powders as Album of the Day, with critic Andrew Parks writing that the music "finds much of its power in minimalism and making every last sound count" and that it is "an incredibly cohesive listen despite its moving parts and myriad co-producers".[10] In The Fader, Raphael Helfand called the cover of System of a Down's "Chop Suey!" "tranquil" and wrote that it does the song justice.[5]The Line of Best Fit's Callum Foulds rated Powders a 9 out of 10, writing that the album "displays Eartheater’s talents for creating worlds of hyper-saturated textures and sounds" and is "is another masterwork and continues her steady ascension".[4] Colin Lodewick of Pitchfork scored Powders a 7.5 out of 10, calling it a "radiant new album [that] explores love’s rapture within the confines of more traditional pop structures" and praising Eartheater's voice but criticizing that the structure of some songs holds back her singing.[2] At that same site, Peyton Toups gave a positive review to "Crushing", calling it "a calming sea of trip-hop".[3] Online streaming service Tidal published a spotlight on this album, with Gabriel Szatan calling the music a set "driven by a rhythmic pulse, with textural accents that twist like curlicues of smoke into inky air", with "more concentrated guitarwork than has ever been heard on a record of" Eartheater's.[11] Editors at Clash Music listed this the 43rd best albums of the year.[12]
Yves Rothman – production on "Face in the Moon" and "Mona Lisa Moan", additional production on "Clean Break"
Gabriel Schuman – mixing on "Sugarcane Switch", "Clean Break", "Chop Suey", "Mona Lisa Moan", and "Pure Smile Snake Venom"
Sega Bodega – production on "Pure Smile Snake Venom"
Tony Seltzer – production on "Heels over Head"
Lecx Stacy – production on "Clean Break"
Kiri Stensby – production on "Clean Break", "Chop Suey", and "Mona Lisa Moan", mixing on "Sugarcane Switch", "Clean Break", "Chop Suey", and "Mona Lisa Moan"
Alonzo Vargas – mixing on "Crushing" and "Heels over Head"
