Albums of the Month - April 2019

Weyes Blood - Titanic Rising

Rough Trade Exclusive gold vinyl and bonus disc.

Natalie Merring's graceful and glorious 4th album sees the artist comfortably slip into her sonic potential with all ease and elegance of slipping on a kaftan.

Titanic Rising is Merring's grand journey into the unknown and her fear of going the same way as the unsinkable ship. The Titanic in this sense is not rising so much as Weyes Blood finds herself sinking. But much like the band on the Titanic, Merring defiantly plays on, accepting her fate.

She sings of falling, vast empty galaxies, quicksand. Her fear of being swallowed up by the great abyss of loneliness is almost paralysing, if it weren't for her therapeutic conclusion that she must embrace it to overcome it.

She implores her lover to stop calling on Andromeda, on Everyday she explains that she's "Sailing off on the ships to nowhere/Got a lot of things to clear away" and while warning the listener not hang on to things on A Lots Gonna Change, she carves out arguably her saddest (but equally her most hopeful) line of the album "Falling trees, get off your knees/No one can keep you down/If your friends and your family/Sadly don't stick around/It's by time you'll learn to get by" (Damn).

With the help of Foxygen's Jonathon Rado, Merring's sound on Titanic Rising reflects her sense of separation. Echoey synths and far off strings. It draws heavily on the 60's Laurel Canyon sound of folk, soul and psychedelia. Merring channels Mama Cass on Everyday, and the weeping, chiming guitar on Andromeda would not feel out of place on All Things Must Pass. Lyrically she has the touch and emotion of Joni Mitchell and Carole King. A beautiful and bewitching achievement.

Albums of the Month

2. The Cinematic Orchestra - To Believe

3. Lady Lamb - Even in the Tremor

4. Ohtis - Curve of Earth

5. Lambchop - This (Is What I Wanted To Tell You)

6. Nick Waterhouse - Nick Waterhouse

7. Ibibio Sound Machine - Doko Mien

8. Lee Fields & The Expressions - It Rains Love

9. Ratso - Stubborn Heart

10. Priests - The Seduction of Kansas

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