Spectreview: Weyes Blood – Titanic Rising

-MAGENTA-

“We love our love
Most of all”

What do we put our faith in now? Natalie Mering asks that question in multiple ways on her imperial new album, and amid the steadily burning planet, the openly corrupt government and the population’s growing dismissal of truth, the answer she finds is “each other.” Recalling the singer-songwriter stylings of Carole King and Linda Ronstadt, Titanic Rising makes a large jump from the ornate bedroom pop of Front Row Seat to Earth to full-on studio chamber pop, lending both a gorgeous fullness and an even more potent emotional directness to her songs. The chord progressions and harmonies of opener “A Lot’s Gonna Change” alone shows how confident Mering’s become as both a composer and a vocalist, while the aptly-cinematic dirge of “Movies” puts Lana Del Rey to shame. Throughout, Mering’s concerned with the state of the world, like all of us, and her choice to evoke such a classic sound reflects how far we’ve come (or fallen) since. Her love songs are substantial, concerned more with complex emotions and past traumas than surface-level desire, while keeping an eye on the present day. “Mirror Forever” is scarily accurate in its depiction of a relationship based on self-fulfillment, while Mering’s character in the regal “Andromeda” searches futilely to find salvation in love. The pacing does suffer from one too many slow-tempo numbers (even though it’s her specific songwriting style), but sit with Titanic Rising long enough and you’ll find yourself immersed wholly in Weyes Blood’s vision of the future.

Recommended for your loneliness.