Xeno & Oaklander New LP “Via Negativa (in the doorway light)”

The avant-garde synth-pop duo Xeno & Oaklander, consisting of Liz Wendelbo and Sean McBride, announces the release of their latest album, inspired by the philosophy of negation—“the study of what not to do.” The album explores the tension between presence and absence, sound and silence, creating a balance between spontaneity and precision. The compositions begin as embryonic piano lines, later evolving into complex modular synth systems, while McBride adds “harmonic padding” to shape the rhythmic architecture.

The result is a textured work that reflects the band’s obsession with drama, the dance of personae, and the theatrical dynamics of human life. Each track unfolds like a dark narrative, an allegory of souls lost in a world of poisonous mines and ruins. The sound alternates between utopian synth-pop and tales of trauma and mineral extraction. The album pulses with electronic life, shifting between frantic choruses and spectral atmospheres, exploring themes such as the conflict between machine and emotion, control and disorder. Songs like “Actor’s Foil” address social tension and the weight of perception in a world where intention and performance are inseparable. Xeno & Oaklander continue to master the intersection of technology and poetry, creating a soundscape rich with meaning and mystery.

Listen to Via Negativa (in the doorway light) here.