Morgan Y. Evans: One of the more interesting projects out there, a truly well rounded “circle of creation” in tone, talents and intent, as the song asserts in the lyric. Part groovy meditation on acceptance, part positive manifestation ritual over a soothing yet repetitive round-like vocal mantra, comforting keys and a sense of finding wellness within the great scheme of things, if that’s your bag. This is about my speed right now. An easy but bold timbre of allowance, warmth and growth accompanied by a deep seeing gaze and more chakra opening than goofy psychedelic visuals. Plus a voice that could put most people on puppet strings. Between this and Purson’s new Desire’s Magic Theatre record, there is hope to be found yet for those who’d prefer to float atop the rising tides of bad modern music with a concealed smirk and big dreams without preferring to believe in hope, humanity and the potential sophistication of audiences looking for an experience rather than serving up more toxic slabs of half cooked and empty styrofoam sugar pill pop. [9/10]
Pryor Stroud: Organized around an ambling, metronomic bass-backbone and tiptoeing piano motif, “Your Creator” employs a minimalist psych-pop aesthetic to meditate on the capacity of deep introspection to produce lasting enlightenment. But, interestingly, the track itself is not introspective; Angel Deradoorian’s vocal remains level, almost disengaged, throughout, seemingly more interested in enabling others’ self-inspection than turning inward itself. “In your inner gaze / You will find the sage / And build a circle of / Creation”, she sings, her voice nearly affectless, didactic rather than dynamic, but it’s precisely this affectlessness that inflects the track with its distinctive trance-like quality. “Your Creator” isn’t a meditation, strictly speaking. It’s a meditation on the act of meditating: Deradoorian arranges all of the track’s qualities — tempo, instrumentation, melody, beat — to draw you into the “inner gaze” she sings of, urging you gently toward the “sage” that resides behind all the distracting thought-noise that clutters our minds. [6/10]
Emmanuel Elone: “Your Creator” is one of the most tiring songs that I’ve had to listen to in the last few weeks. Deradoorian’s vocals are light, the instrumentation is unassuming and there is no build at all in the song. As a result, though “Your Creator” is only four minutes, it feels like its ten, and it certainly isn’t interesting enough to keep my interest for more than a few seconds at a time. The decent vocal melody does improve the song, but only elevates it from terrible to mindless filler. [3/10]
Chris Ingalls: From former Dirty Projector Angel Deradoorian’s 2015 solo album, “Your Creator” unfolds nicely, with a very basic, almost minimalist musical backdrop, which frames her voice perfectly. The robotic delivery almost suggests a more tuneful Laurie Anderson, but listing possible influences seems useless, because there’s a truly original artist at work here, combining lovable melodies with a genuine sense of quirk. [8/10]
Chad Miller: A fun little song with lots of excellent contrasts, usually made possible by the wonderful production. While it’s usually a subtle inclusion, it’s always extremely effective and perfectly spruces up the otherwise simple melody. [8/10]
“Your Creator” appears on Deradoorian’s The Expanding Flower Planet.
SCORE: 6.80