There is something deliciously conspiratorial about Hidden Shores and the release of the "Neon Silence" EP. I find myself picturing the artist wiping chalk dust off their hands after a day of teaching elementary schoolers, only to go home, dim the lights, and converse with algorithms. It’s not your typical moonlighting gig; while most are decompressing with reality TV, Hidden Shores is out there...

With the release of Jeppediinho’s debut album, “Games of Life”, we are reminded that sometimes the most profound rulebooks are written by those who’ve mastered a different kind of joystick. Jesper Holmgren, a former professional e-sports player, has constructed a thirteen-level odyssey that treats human emotion like a side-scrolling adventure: there are pitfalls, power-ups, and a final boss that turns out to look suspiciously...