Album Description:
“PAGAN” is already among the most acclaimed dance/electronic releases in recent memory, with Tiny
Mix Tapes declaring it “minimal pop music to maximal ends… (Palmistry) uses simple synth melodies,
antiseptic beats, and a lilting, candid vocal style to craft an emotionally affecting rumination on
absence/presence. In stripping these songs back to their essence, he achieves something special,
tracing a link to a common musical language and set of experiences…music that is as striking as it
is affecting.” New York Magazine echoed that the album is “a breeze of gossamer confections that strip
dancehall down to its basic elements," with The New Yorker praising its "emotional blend of recognizable
and alien pop music." Pop Matters praised Keating for his “absolute singularity of musical vision,” hailing
his use of “soft-voiced R&B, dancehall, James Blake ghost-electro, syncopated rhythms, melancholic
melodies, and, of course, a concatenation of synth pulses that seem to at once flow around Keating’s
voice and push it upward.” “PAGAN” “is a singular vision,” reiterated Resident Advisor, noting its
“ethereal trance synths and woozy, trap-like percussion. Coupled with (Keating’s) soft, half-whispered
vocals, the sound makes for great summer pop tracks.”