Portrait of My Heart＜限定盤/Olive Green Vinyl＞

Chrystia Cabrals music as Spellling has always inhabited a fantasy realm, whether shes making loop-based avant-folk or immaculately orchestrated Baroque pop. With Portrait of My Heart, she focuses on direct emotional expression, delivering her most personal lyrics as well as her most immediate, guitar-driven hooks. The albums stunning title track is more rooted in post-punk than anything shes done so far, with an urgent rhythm and anthemic chorus expressing severe alienation, while rhapsodic strings link back to the sound of Spelllings 2021 breakthrough The Turning Wheel. Most of the songs keep to a concise length, with nothing approaching an epic like "Boys at School," but they still experiment with unusual melodies and structures, even when they verge on power pop, like the defiant "Alibi." "Destiny Arrives" is more delicate but still complex, demonstrating Cabrals impressive versatility as a vocalist. "Ammunition" is a tender "us against the world" love song that climaxes with a bombastic guitar solo, and "Mount Analogue" is a more intimate duet with Toro y Mois Chaz Bear. The albums longest track, "Drain," details romantic desperation, and its grungy guitars and drowsy rhythm are occasionally laced with electronic effects and glitches. The songs heavy, all-consuming coda sets the stage for "Satisfaction," a haunted house of metallic guitars and frightened shrieks. "Love Ray Eyes" is a return to anthemic pop/rock, but the eerie vocal bridge and levitating synth effects make the song strange and otherworldly. The album ends with a gorgeous cover of My Bloody Valentines "Sometimes," which foregrounds the songs passionate lyrics but retains its overwhelming dreaminess. Portrait of My Heart is Spelllings most accessible work, but its still unconventional and unpredictable, reflecting her uniquely magical vision. ~ Paul Simpson