And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow

With her 2019 album, Titanic Rising, vocalist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Natalie Mering took her long-developing project Weyes Blood to a new level. A fascination with 70s soft rock tonalities that showed up on earlier albums crystallized into something far more opulent on Titanic Rising, with hook-abundant tunes somewhere between Nilsson and Joni underscored by the synth abstraction and experimentalism that had remained constants in the Weyes Blood catalog. Fifth album And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow emerges as the second installment of a trilogy that began with Titanic Rising, and it continues that albums gorgeous arrangements, intricate songwriting, and themes contemplating both ones place in the universe as well as the trajectory of the universe itself. Opening with immediate standout "Its Not Just Me, Its Everybody," all these elements are in place and even more pronounced than on the album prior. The songs straightforward, piano-led instrumentation is gradually filled out by sweeps of orchestral strings, harp, and heavenly backing vocals. Merings steady, mellow, double-tracked vocals parse through lyrics about times of overwhelming change and isolation as the song builds. Its the first of several of the albums tunes that linger for more than six minutes, moving steadily through their dreamy production and making space for Mering to ruminate on big-picture themes that are more universal than personal. "The Worst Is Done" and "Children of the Empire" are similar, examining the heaviness of societies living through what feels like the end times over peppy rhythms and busy chamber pop flourishes. Mering translates this into a haunted 50s ballad style on "Hearts Aglow," injecting a little Twin Peaks energy into the albums majestic pop sound. Much like its predecessor, the album consists of eight monolithic songs and two more experimental interludes, but And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow expands on the vision of Titanic Rising rather than simply repeating it. "God Turn Me Into a Flower" is a wonderfully restrained inclusion, with Merings voice, delicate strings, and guest synthesizers from Oneohtrix Point Nevers Daniel Lopatin all swirling into a blur of textures and ambience. The neon synth tones, rubbery bass guitar, and clunky drum machine beat of "Twin Flame" is more synth pop than anything Weyes Blood has created before and shakes up the flow of the album without taking it so far out of range that it feels like an outlier. And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow is another step forward for Weyes Blood, building on the stunning sonic and emotional environments she tailored on Titanic Rising and using that lushness as a means of processing destabilized times. ~ Fred Thomas

前作『Titanic Rising』が各メディアで高い評価を得たサンタモニカの女性シンガー・ソングライター。3年半ぶりとなる4枚目のアルバムには、引き続きフォクシジェンのジョナサン・ラドがプロデューサーとして参加。内容も前作からの延長線上にあり、ラナ・デル・レイの近作にも通じる美しいインディー・フォーク作だ。一方でジョニ・ミッチェルやニール・ヤング、バーバンク・サウンドなど、出身地でもあるアメリカ西海岸の音楽へのリスペクトが大いに感じ取れ、アルバム全体に漂うレイドバック感がたまらなく心に染みる。つまり、これまでの彼女らしさを発揮しつつ、自身のルーツにも向き合った新境地の作品と言っていい。アナログとデジタルの狭間を行く、温もりのあるサウンドも最高だ。
bounce (C)赤瀧洋二