Description
Lael Neales minimalist drone pop draws inspiration from the Transcendentalists, the alienation of modern life, and a rich array of musical influencesranging from Dionne Warwick and John Lennon to primitive American gospel and Spacemen 3. Her expansive new record, Altogether Stranger was written and recorded in the early morning quiet of Los Angeles. Clocking in at just 32 minutes, the 9-song LP covers an unexpected breadth of musical and lyrical terrainfrom garage rock nursery rhymes and creation myths to Motorik dance dirges and solitary Omnichord meditations. A brilliant lyricist, Neale has a unique ability to uncover the extraordinary within the mundane, tackling themes of polarity that recur throughout her workcountry vs. city, humanity vs. technology, isolation vs. society. This album is her third collaboration with producer Guy Blakeslee who helps expand the tonal palette while staying true to Neales commitment to the raw immediacy and hand-made intimacy of home recording. Altogether Stranger – a stunning album filled with dreamlike reverie, Neales crystalline voice, and echoes of the Velvet Underground – was conceived after four years of oscillating between rural solitude and urban chaos. It finds Neale perched at the piano in a hilltop bungalow, looking down on a rare curve of Sunset Blvd. Here, in this daily ritual of writing, singing, and paintingwhat David Lynch referred to as the Art Lifeshe creates the space for her most adventurous work to date.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.