Desert Window＜Marble Vinyl＞

Lucy Gooch first appeared with a handful of EPs which focused on her ethereal, multi-layered vocals, melding ambient and dream pop with melodies echoing folk traditions. Desert Window is her first full-length, and its a more fleshed-out expansion of her sound, incorporating more acoustic instrumentation as well as more complex choral harmonies. "Like Clay" opens the album with chiming guitars and wordless chanting, providing the backdrop for a brief verse about waking up from a deep sleep. The two-part "Night Window" is more ambitious and progressive, with brightly droning synths and more obscured vocals, as well as wistful saxophone and bubbling electronic pulsations. The second half features a particularly breathtaking symphonic arrangement. "Keep Pulling Me In" begins in a grainy dark ambient haze similar to Tim Hecker before Goochs lyrics and passionate vocal performance reflect the pressure of being caught in the vicious cycle of a rocky relationship. "Jack Hare" is more abstract and collage-like, with thundering blows and cold, rushing wind giving way to poetic lyrics which gradually become more fragmented, dissolving into crisscrossing strings and woodwinds. The following "Clouds" is about reformation and rebirth, appropriately re-emerging after a sparse middle section into a much more spirited and uplifting final verse. The title track is an intricately designed, lushly arranged piece with some of the albums most moving melodies. Gooch allows her music to stretch beyond boundaries and reach transcendental states. ~ Paul Simpson