Lael Neale - Every Star Shivers in the Dark Review
It brings a crescendo of twinkling key changes at the end of the track which linger long in the mind like the last rays of sunshine on the perfect Summer day.
From Indie aficionados Sub Pop comes the latest release from Lael Neale: Every Star Shivers in the Dark, her first on the label, produced by Guy Blakeslee of The Entranceband fame.
Neale described the track in her own words via Bandcamp as “my ode to Los Angeles, which always felt to me like the outskirts of Eden. I would walk a lot in the city, go from Dodgers Stadium into Downtown — along Alameda. Up in the hills, I’d look out at the vast sprawl and feel daunted. But Los Angeles is not as it appears. Even in moments of isolation, I have looked for communion with strangers and, almost always, found it. These were the scenes and feelings swirling around when I was challenging myself to write a song using only two chords.”
Best listened to on headphones, it is immediately reminiscent of artists such as Alice Boman or Molly Burch. The simplistic pared-back two-chord structure serves as an impeccable backdrop positioning the vocals firmly centre-stage and, though almost vulnerable in their delivery, they’re projected as tantalisingly clear. Unusually, there is no chorus; instead the lyrics fade between verses creating a feeling of solitude, which is also a prominent theme in the self-produced and self-directed accompanying music video.
The richness of the Omnichord organ certainly conjures up images of faded Hollywood glamour, while the unyielding drum track lends an underlying feeling of restlessness. The lyrics highlight stark observations of her physical and sub-conscious surroundings, underpinned by a hankering for something more tangible, more organic: “Machine-made lap of luxury, I’m torn between the town and country, I’m going to get real old, go watch a garden grow”. This is perhaps a nod to her Virginian roots, as well as musings over the most human of conditions, themes that connect us all: love, longing and belonging, and the pursuit thereof. “God made man to love someone, why can’t I love someone? I’d like to love someone”.
While a noticeable departure from 2015's folk-heavy I'll Be Your Man, Every Star Shivers in the Dark is far more reflective in its delivery, there is an undeniably optimistic undertone and a dreaminess liberally sprinkled throughout. It brings a crescendo of twinkling key changes at the end of the track which linger long in the mind like the last rays of sunshine on the perfect Summer day.