Opin

Forward-thinking electronic/experimental pop outfit Opin returns with their most fully realized work to date. Embrace the Grift is a genre-defying fusion of electronic textures, rhythmic experimentation, and raw emotional resonance. A thrilling blend of heady improvisation and precision craft, Embrace the Grift reflects Opin’s evolution into a band unafraid to explore bold sonic territory. Described as “a brutalist building topped with a living green roof,” the album is both jagged and fluid—balancing club-ready propulsion with moments of solitary introspection. Mixed by acclaimed producer Jeff Zeigler (The War on Drugs, Kurt Vile) and mastered to tape by Fred Kevorkian (Iggy Pop, The White Stripes), the record captures Opin at their most confident and exploratory. “This album touches the past and races into the future,” says the trio. “It’s sharp-edged and forward-looking, yet warm and surprisingly organic.”

In anticipation of the album, Opin recently released Hospital Street III, the third in their series of improvisational mixtapes. The track offers a compelling preview of Embrace the Grift’s dynamic sound palette and boundary-pushing spirit.

Embrace the Grift of a good time.

The group, comprising Landis Wine, Jon Hawkins, and Tori Hovater, thrives on spontaneity, integrating jam sessions into their live performances and recordings. Tracks like BODYWORK developed through improvisational workshops, reflects their focus on capturing raw excitement and evolving ideas. Their shift to a looser structure has redefined their sound as more adventurous and "delicious," according to Hovater.

The band thrives outside the conventional album cycle, regularly releasing singles and mixtapes inspired by the moment, which has allowed them to maintain creative momentum. This innovative approach showcases Opin’s ability to stay versatile and inspired, making the upcoming release of EMBRACE THE GRIFT one to watch.

The Big Take-Over “The fact that something so lush and orchestrated, so organic and alive, can be drawn forth from a purely digital creative crucible, that sonic traditions can be remade in a new binary image, that the sound of the future, or at least one posible version of it, is found in the present, is testimony to Opin’s three members, for that is exactly what Landis Wine, Jon Hawkins, and Tori Hovater are found doing on their latest album, Embrace the Grift.”

Mystic Sons 8/10 “With their newest release 'Embrace The Grift', US art-rock innovators Opin step further into their own strange and alluring universe, one where dancefloor pulses meet meditative shadows, and the seams between improvisation and meticulous structure are deliberately blurred. It’s a record filled with sharp angles softened by overgrowth and neon corridors leading to quiet rooms you didn’t know you needed.”

IndieTapes “The three talented artists from Virginia deliver a gripping, electrifying, and above all a refreshingly original sound rarely found in other productions.”

Stereogum “Landis Wine, Tori Hovater, and Jon Hawkins take us on an expansive ride that thrillingly fractures into cyborg pop and a waterfall of noise.”

Apricot Magazine “Richmond, Virginia has a new landmark—not a building or a statue, but a sonic structure with sharp corners, neon-lit hallways, and emotionally-charged hidden chambers.”

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