In the studio, the two buzzed with a delicate “I’ve got you” energy, anchoring their adventurous new look. Outfitted in PUMA during their photo shoot with RANGE, they embody a shape-shifting grace that mirrors the dynamic textures of their music.

Marking their first release since 2022, the duo’s latest LP, Art Oracles, is a glowing suite of tracks centered on intuition, reflection, and emotional mastery. “Julia” is a warm, head-nodding anthem for sunset yearning, whereas tracks like “Grass” and “Captain” add necessary, direct vulnerability to their otherwise light-shrouded darkness.

Art Oracles explores themes like grief, self‑doubt, and independence. How did writing this record differ emotionally or philosophically from your previous album, Vox Rea?

Our previous album dealt a lot more in hypotheticals — existential angst, fear, etc. — whereas Art Oracles was written amid a bunch of massive changes that we were both going through in our lives. It’s an album about embracing the need to make hard choices, while spending a little less time thinking and more time doing.

The single “One Kiss” has a lighter, more playful tone than your earlier existential tracks. Was this a deliberate pivot for this new project, and how do you balance those softer moments with your signature noir-pop tendencies?

A big goal with this record was to flirt with the world of danceability—so we started writing to drum loops, which broke us out of our mold a little bit in that regard. It was fun to create some songs that didn’t feel like they had to be listened to while sitting down alone in a dark room.

Talk to me about the collaborative process between the two of you and your producers when working on this project. How did each producer shape the palette of Art Oracles, and what did they unlock in your creative process?

We worked with Connor Seidel and Tim Buron again on this project. They’re always incredible and have an ability to take our ideas and give them new life. This record was different from the last in the sense that, instead of recording in a traditional studio, we just had a super basic setup at our parents’ place on Vancouver Island. The whole thing felt very organic—no vocal booth or hours and hours spent on the technical side of things. We just let ideas flow and captured them as they did.

Since leaving behind your previous band The Katherines, in what ways has being sisters shaped the writing, creative, and performance process under your new moniker, Vox Rea?

It has forced a no-bullshit approach. Being sisters, we’ll call each other on our shit so quickly that we haven’t been able to fake being cool at all. So yeah, I think it means we have to be our full, authentic selves even when we’re “performing.”

How do you manage creative tension or disagreement when co‑writing and co‑directing videos, and do you find your perspectives align more closely or diverge in these high‑pressure processes?

It’s funny because I think we actually have more personal disagreements than creative ones. We align pretty perfectly on creative vision. Where we struggle is all the other stuff. Touring with your sister can be funny. We started couples therapy this year, so that has definitely helped with diluting high-tension situations.

How has audience reception—especially to your new, more upbeat material like “Julia”—influenced your live set and energy?

Seeing people have the most fun with those types of songs at shows definitely made us want to lean in a more upbeat direction. We wanted to be able to play shows that felt like a celebration, not just a solemn ode to our own sadness.

Tell us about a moment during the making of Art Oracles where the two of you completely disagreed—creatively or otherwise—and how that disagreement prompted a beneficial result.

It kind of ties back to what we said about the personal vs. creative thing above. I think a big learning curve for us throughout the process of creating this record was about learning to accept and embrace each other’s differences rather than being frustrated by them. Our late twenties saw us differing from each other as people, and I think that in some ways, the songs that each of us wrote for this album were a means of explaining our story and perspective to each other.

Do you remember a specific song on the album that came together unusually quickly or, on the flip side, took forever to finish? What do you think that says about where you were emotionally at the time?

There are certain songs that flowed incredibly easily. We actually wrote “Oh Mama” and “One Kiss” on the same afternoon, and both of those songs just came out within a matter of minutes. But with songs like “Grass” and “Captain,” we spent a little longer poring over the lyrics and making sure they captured those emotions. 

Both of those songs are metaphorical explorations of feeling dissatisfied with where you are or dealing with indecisiveness—that feeling like you’re watching your life pass you by. I think digging into those metaphors took a little more time to get right.

The album title feels like a nod to mysticism, creativity, and guidance. What “oracles” guided you while making this record—whether people, books, dreams, or each other?

During a residency at the Banff Centre, we found this oracle deck that contained creative and life inspiration from 50 artists, and that was the rabbit hole we fell down.

What’s next for Vox Rea?

More music, always. Maybe we can finally write about figuring it all out… but probably not.