Obedear

Purity Ring made “Obedear” during the 2011–2012 sessions for Shrines, working separately from Halifax and Montreal and exchanging parts by email. Megan James wrote and sang the vocal, while Corin Roddick built the instrumental production, with the album mixed by the duo and mastered by Chris Gehringer. Released on 24 April 2012 through 4AD and Last Gang, it introduced Shrines and followed the attention generated by “Ungirthed” and “Belispeak.” Contemporary criticism treated it as confirmation of the duo’s distinctive voice-and-programming partnership ahead of their debut album. The track remains one of Purity Ring’s signature early recordings and later reached a wider television audience as the theme for Search Party. It stands as a defining piece of the sound that made Shrines a widely discussed independent debut of 2012.