Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising

8.8

Natalie Mering's latest album as Weyes Blood is her most cinematic and gorgeously arranged by a mile. The turbid lyrics contrast fantastically with the lush instrumentation to create material that can easily compete with the best pop-rock of the late 60s and early 70s. Titanic Rising is immaculate; an overall triumph for form and music.

Highlights

- Natalie's voice gives character, drama and passion to all the tracks where it's involved.

- The instrumentals feel opressed but thinly orchestrated, and the mixture of them swells you into a gigantic hole of sound and pace.

- The lyricism is cryptic and at-the-point, fulled with queasy anecdotes and sharp metaphors.

Lowlights

- At times, it feels like some songs could have used a bit more of diversity in lyrics and harmonies.

Standouts

- Everyday

- Andromeda

- Movies

Country: USA

Released: April 5, 2019

Length: 42:28

Helado Negro - This Is How You Smile

6.6

The latest release from the Ecuadorian-American singer-songwriter melts into tropical lullabies and spacious poetry in an album that's at times too busy being taciturn and sleepy to leave a moving impression on the listener.

Highlights

- The production, though shy, is packed with beautiful details.

- The transition between songs is smooth and effortless.

Lowlights

- Roberto Carlos' voice cannot sustain the album's momentum for long.

- Some songs are so quiet and numb that they lose the feeling.

- Though relatively short, the record seems too long and dense at times.

Standouts

- Please Won't Please

- Seen My Aura

- Fantasma Vaga

Country: USA

Released: March 8, 2019

Length: 40:54

Jessica Pratt - Quiet Signs

8.3

Alike female folk heroines Nico, Vashti Bunyan, Joni Mitchell or Sybille Bayer, Jessica Pratt unfolds quiet but concise, tender but menacing psychedelic songs that are cryptic and embracing, accompanied by nothing more than a guitar and a couple of windy effects now and then. It's a surprisingly good example of grandeur made into solitude and coyness.

Highlights

- Jessica's voice is mesmerising, drenched into reverb and lo-fi microphones to create a sordid, intimate effect that's at the same time distant and disturbing.

- The record is so laid-back and low-profiled but still shines and swings in mood and volume.

- The lyrics are modern poetry, and are as difficult-to-classify as universally-inclusive.

Lowlights

- A couple of tracks fall pale in comparison to others.

Standouts

- This Time Around

- As The World Turns

- Poly Blue

Country: USA

Released: February 8, 2019

Length: 27:50