At first it might seem like here is another dark female crooner to add among the likes of Marissa Nadler and Emma Ruth Rundle, this time just hailing from England. She has a touch of country to her. Yeah so does Nadler. Here is reminds me more of KD Lang, but if Lang was straight and depressed. The first song wanders in . It drifts in gray ,where the second song has more dynamic kick to it swelling to a more soaring crescendo. The first three songs do not give much in terms of sonice heaviness . Instead they a more plainitive stroll across pastoral musings. This changes when "Fearless" takes a shift into metal when it builds . This is done is a somewhat similar way to where Chelsea Wolfe went on "Abyss" , less distortion but harsh male vocals in the background. She has used male vocals to double her's on the second song. They are not credited on her Bandcamp.
The lazy melody to "Glimmer" languishes on it self and does not hook me in as well as the other songs. It is not bad and perhaps it just needs to grow on me."Love and Pain " works really well off the post rock sense of dynamics. He melody glides along with where it wants to fly. Her melodies are not pop centered hooks or even rock ones that come out and grab you. Instead she works off a more subtle grace. Just when you think she is moving the album in a more rock direction she shifts gears back into the more sedate with a rainy haze take on folk with " Wait" . It has a strum but is not content to let an acoustic guitar be the sum of it's colors. The mlody grows on you.
The last song is a delicate piano piece when sings with a more jazz touched melody that is almost not there. This is not the most climatic way to end the album but considering the ground she covers and her leaning more toward the ballad side of the fence it makes sense. I will round this one up to a 9.5 , as I think some of the moments on this album that did not catch me on the first few listens will grow on me. Out on Bella Union Records.
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