And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow - Weyes Blood: Review

Weyes Blood

is the chamber pop project of singer-songwriter Natalie Mering. Her fourth album Titanic Rising came out in 2019 and served as a massive breakout for her receiving nearly unanimous acclaim from critics and spawning a fervent fanbase around her work. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow has the task of following that record 3 years later and was preceded by a trio of singles over the past few months. 

Review by Lav:

Not to sound like every critic, but the first few times I heard Weyes Blood's music on earlier projects I could see there was some potential, particularly in her incredible voice, but the details just weren't there yet. That potential was fully realized on her breakout project Titanic Rising which featured a massive improvement on the songwriting front and the excellent addition of Foxygen's Jonathan Rado on production. Rado is back on this album alongside a handful of other producers and arrangers and my expectations were fittingly quite high. While I think this album may potentially struggle to hold up to its predecessor, taken at face value I think it's still a solid listen. 

The first two singles from the album didn't do anything to temper my expectations, in fact, they did the opposite. It's Not Just Me, It's Everybody was the lead single and opening track and I've loved it from the first time I heard its opening notes. I love the gentle progression swelling at just the right moment and the beautiful instantly memorable hook. It would have been so easy to blow this song out of proportion but it has the patience and nuance to save everything for just the right moments, which pays off so well. Grapevine came next and I also liked it. I love when Natalie starts to play loose and fast with the refrains on the hook and the swelling instrumentation when she delivers the titular line is perfectly placed. Also, as a Lana Del Rey fan, I can't help but adore the line about her car breaking down near where "they got" James Dean. 

There are more highlights to be found among the deep cuts. Hearts Aglow sees Natalie confronting some difficult feelings and realities she's had over the past few years in an absolutely beautiful fashion. As she calls out the person who can light her heart again and the layers of piano start to rise around her it makes for a wonderful moment. The record ends on a brilliant trio of songs and while I think this will get overlooked far too often, In Holy Flux is a slightly glitchy ambient cut that runs under two minutes but leaves a really strong impact on the record. 

Of all the record's longer cuts The Worst Is Done gets right into it the quickest which I appreciate because the bouncy refrains are met right away by fitting instrumentation. I actually like that this is a genuinely very positive and even outgoing sound for a Weyes Blood song, at least until you dig into the lyrics. There is a HARSH contrast to be found on the track as Natalie dives into various regrets she has about wasting time with the wrong people and paying attention to the wrong things. It works together brilliantly and emerged quickly as one of my favorite among the record's deep cuts. The streak continues onto A Given Thing where Natalie proves she is ready to move on from much of the difficult subject matter she's been working through on the record. The idea of love everlasting which becomes a connection between two people so intimate that you can no longer discern where one ends and the other starts is quite a nebulous idea, but the song gives her all the room she needs to explore it. The impassioned moments the record closes with feel like a revelation shining through the haze of everything else she's been working on and it's really a beautiful moment to end off on. 

There are some songs both long and short that sound good while they're on, but don't stick with me that much. Children Of The Empire starts off with a bouncy piano phrase that I find pretty irresistible. It also has some beautiful strings that still fit in with the song's bouncier demeanor. I can't say that track has any of my favorite refrains or lyrics on the record even though the background singing is beautiful. It sounds very pretty but I always have trouble recalling it. I also don't want to skip over the interlude And In the Darkness which is so short that it doesn't really even have a chance to serve whatever purpose it was meant to by being included here. 

The third single God Turn Me Into A Flower had a head start with me because I absolutely love the title and would also like to be turned into a flower, while we're making requests. The song takes a sort of similar approach to my favorite Weyes Blood song Movies. But instead of allowing the space to fill up with glittering instrumentation as the song reaches a climax, it feels like the climax never really comes. While Natalie's vocalizing is beautiful to listen to it never really leads anywhere. When the song's fades out completely before it feels like the second half has made any kind of impression, I can't help but be confused. 

Twin Flame isn't a cover of In The Air Tonight but the way it starts makes me realize that I kind of want Weyes Blood to do one. Unfortunately, that's pretty much the only positive I have towards the song. For the first time in a LONG time I think Natalie's vocals kind of let the hook down a bit. The way she holds the notes on both the words Twin and Flame is so awkward and rob them of the impact they would have otherwise. 

And In The Darkness isn't a perfect record, nor is it as good as Titanic Rising, but getting caught up in those details would be failing to realize that there's a lot of good material here. Once again I think the instrumentation on this record is wonderfully realized with an impressively thorough and expansive collection of beautiful sounds. The lyricism on the record didn't necessarily grab me at first, but as I heard the record again and again I started to see more of what she was going for. The emotional journey of the record starts to feel more important than any of its individual parts and through that lens, I appreciated the experience of the record more and more every time I heard it. Despite a flaw here and there I think any fans of Titanic Rising or any kind of singer-songwriter or chamber pop music out there should do themselves a favor and check this record out. 7.5/10

For more great indie check out my review of Bjork's Fossora here