Weyes Blood - And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow Review
And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow is another elegant record from Weyes Blood.
Weyes Blood’s Natalie Mering is in many ways is a voice that only comes along once in a generation. Her vocals are on par with legends like Karen Carpenter. Her lyrics shine a light on the narcissism in our society, the overabundance of ironically immobilising technology and the loneliness of the universe. With her new album And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow we see Mering delve deeper into themes that permeated her breakout record and Sub Pop debut Titanic Rising. Where Titanic Rising felt like a warning, her new record feels like we’re long past the warning and deep in the fire.
At a time of hyperisolation for everyone around the world, Mering find it hard to escape these feelings in her lyrics for the record. The album opens to emotional tsunami ‘It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody’ a bold and honest take on the anxiety and feeling of hopelessness that social gatherings can cause. Musically, the tracks strings open the album in a way reminiscent of how her previous album ended, almost feeling like a spiritual succession, another chapter in the story.
Compared to Titanic Rising this album seems to have a stronger focus on simplicity. The tracks on And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow are some of the most direct Mering has produced under the Weyes Blood name. There’s a consistency that runs throughout the record much like her previous album. ““I was asking a lot of questions while writing these songs. Hyper isolation kept coming up,” Mering says. Mering is concerned with our increased lack of humanity, with the rise of automation and the obsession with life’s lifeless Meta realities.
The production on this record is gorgeous. There’s no denying, Mering has created another beautiful record here, with just as much power as Titanic Rising. ‘Children of the Empire’ is another piano driven track. Mering’s ethereal vocals soar high over striking instrumental arrangements. Organ arpeggios, floating harps and percussive symbols echo throughout the song.
‘Grapevine’ the second single from the record starts with acoustic guitars before eerie bells play over the chorus. There’s something otherworldly about Weyes Blood’s music and this is especially true here. Natalie Mering wraps her harrowing lyrics in some of the sweetest melodies she’s written on this record. ‘The Worst Is Done’ serves as a bleak forewarning but is inescapably sweet in it’s delivery. “I’m a different girl,” exclaims Mering, harking back to themes of change that seemed more apparent on Titanic Rising. At times Mering comes across as though she’s indifferent to change. It’s interesting how the artist seems if anything more fed up with the world than ever before, and rightfully so.
The album closes on ‘A Given Thing’ another moving piano ballad. This track feels like a confession. Perhaps a metaphor for a failing relationship but there seems to be a deeper confession here, a pain for something that could have been. As a whole And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow is another elegant record from Weyes Blood. There’s no denying Mering’s talent as a songwriter and this record solidifies her as one of the most important artists of the last decade. Though the album isn’t quite as experimental musically as Mering’s previous albums, it’s definitely a step up in terms of song writing. The warm glossy production on this record gives it a lasting sense of whole heartedness. Mering should be proud of this one and the work she’s done to get to this point.
