Album Reviews: Blondshell, Lucius, Marlaena Moore

Blondshell – If You Asked For a Picture
Los Angeles

While it’s harder to say these days if Blondshell is underrated, or simply just not talked about enough, she is easily one of the most talented composers in the game today. Balancing utterly intimate stories with glorious sonic choices, and the sharp writing to make all that pain and discovery all the more memorable, this is a reminder of how impactful a record can be. There’s such a broad spectrum of colours on display in “T&A” that almost betray its demented story of playing to your desires vs your needs, and the mess that you have to clean up in the wake of those decisions. The slow and shimmering runs of “What’s Fair” explode into a powerful early 2000s pop punk roar, as Sabrina Mae Teitelbaum inspiringly bear’s her whole life story into the song, and tries to reckon with how people perceive the person behind these stories.  “Event of a Fire” creeps on you, barely twitching towards a chorus, but rather adding pieces as its story gains momentum, so that by the end of its run you can feel a solo coming as the whole sound bursts into a thousand flames and you want to either cheer or cry, or both. There’s a more cosmic sound to “23’s a Baby” that makes your mind soar listening to something emulate the wonder, fear and growth of your 20s, and create something that truly pushes your imagination to visualize.

Loaded Honey – Don’t Speak (Single)
Essex/London, England

Where Jungle itself takes a grander and more genre-fusion-focused approach to revitalize funk ideas through rock, electronic, hip hop and more, the spin-off project Loaded Honey (Jungle members Josh Lloyd-Watson and Lydia Kitto) gears things to making new classics in the stripped-down soul genre that inspires most of their other work. “Don’t Speak” blends a lot of the Jackson 5, Supremes, among many others with sublime guitar tones and lush vocals from Lydia Kitto, for a melange that is sweet candy to the ears that warrants multiple lessons. It’s so rich and enjoyable in fact that you may not take in the heartbroken story at its core, with a partner or perhaps a child, scorned by a cheating parent. The love poured into the production, performances and overall sound here shows just why these artists have been making such stellar music elsewhere, and honestly, we can’t wait to hear more from their LP showcasing them in these more open, and vintage arrangements.

Lucius – Lucius
Brookyln

After a few years of triumphantly large productions, Lucius is trying to shrink things down a bit. Though this makes for great personal songs, and others with a great range from tiny to galactic, it does also create some less distinct music as a side effect. “Final Days” takes its time spreading out the dynamic scope in its jaws, going from a tiny, acoustic gem, to a fiery roar to the heavens to let nothing be unsaid before the end. There’s a more shifting ground approach to “Gold Rush,” as the band rocks between a steady groove and their powerhouse harmonies to make an off-kilter, if at times less directional song that pushes sonic boundaries. There’s a softer R&B flow on “Do It All for You” with its creamy guitars and silky strings, creating a loving atmosphere for the duo to play on. There’s a more fully fleshed out pop sound to “Impressions” in its soft rock charge, bringing a bit of Norah Jones and Dido to the plate, while the pair up their harmonies with Madison Cunningham and some beautiful bells to up the shimmering qualities.

Gwenno – War (Single)
Cardiff, Wales

Taking a break from her Welsh and Cornish records, “War” sees Gwenno setting an English Edrica Huws poem about conflict to music, in devastating and visually evocative waves. There’s a malaise and feeling of destruction all over the composition, but also small moments of fractured beauty among the wreckage. Lamenting a kind of inevitable tumble towards war, there’s a hopelessness in the lyrics, though one that still tries to find the humanity that tries to exist amongst so much hardship. In the dark and shattered sound of the track, the electronics mix with the bass and piano combo to live in a desolation jazz, with its final moments taking these to mesmerizing highs that themselves are disintegrating or becoming too loud to tell apart anymore.

Marlaena Moore — Because You Love Everything
Montreal

Impossible to miss in the Montreal music scene, Marlaena Moore has grown her sound fast over the last few years to create a body of work that’s constantly evolving. In her latest effort, Moore pours everything out into the record and delivers heartfelt performance after performance on a truly transformative piece of work. Between its chugging guitar lines, “Unfaded” has one of the most singular guitar riffs in its sunny, crinkling refrain, which leads another ghostly run of vocals itself. The rhythmic ebb and flow to the synth and guitars on “Right to Your Love” feels like stars pulsing in the night sky, making a dazzling collage of lights as Moore slowly drips in more drums and glowing keys. There’s a late 90s/early 2000s sheen to “Running on Empty” that also calls to some Caroline Polachek in the way Moore’s vocals wail out, and similarly how those neon guitars ring out with such soothing tones amid the water harmonies. Despite its late placement on the record, “Pacer” bears some of the album’s most spectacular sounds, taking you through clouds of wondrous sonic light like you’re soaring, despite a rather mixed set of emotions about trying to accept things rather than spend your whole life fighting things.

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