In recent interviews, Natalie Mering has invited us to picture our hearts as glow sticks, lighting up when broken. So her fifth album as Weyes Blood, And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow (AITDHA), finds her addressing the unsettling state of the world with a beguiling blend of cosy nostalgia and cautious optimism.
If you're unfamiliar with the LA-based, 34-year-old artist, imagine those “occupants of interplanetary craft” had responded to Karen Carpenter’s call and beamed her aboard a slightly wonky flying saucer, powered by vintage synths. Her velvety vocals are so rich and warm that listening to her often feels like dipping your anxieties in melted chocolate. At times, she can pile her impeccably researched retro-gloop on a little thickly. But 2019’s Titanic Rising had a confidence and melodic complexity that lifted it beyond pastiche.
