Bow to Love

In 2020, Isobel Campbell finally broke free of contractual issues that had kept her music in limbo for years, and was free to share the warming beauty of There Is No Other..., her first solo album in 14 years. Bow to Love follows relatively quickly just four years later, presenting a chapter of Campbells work thats less focused than the soft California pop of There Is No Other... but no less enjoyable. Each song takes a slightly different route, with opener "Everything Falls Apart" setting the tone by incorporating a little bit of the whispery folk, electronic underscoring, and moody lounge atmospheres that follow in the rest of the tracks. "Second Guessing" has the singsong naivete that made Campbells songs with Belle and Sebastian so charming, and the banjo-centered shuffle of the title track updates that charm with a looping arrangement thats a little more meandering and curious. "4316" is all bright synths and pop melodies, while "Take This Poison" is dour, moody, and droning. "You" brings in minor-key melodrama and cinematic violins, expanding the albums stylistic spectrum even further. The unifying factor throughout the record is Campbells distinctively hushed vocal presence, as well as her ability to wrap her voice around any instrumental template she comes across. By the orchestral, Chelsea Girl-evoking beauty of final track "Why Worry," Campbell has spent the album flitting from idea to idea, ending up with a sampler pack of different stylizations of her always lovely (if not always simple) songcraft. ~ Fred Thomas