Denver, Colorado-based Isadora Eden has a new album `Forget What Makes It Glow` which is released this month and shares thoughts on themes such as the after-effects of surviving abuse, religion, nostalgia, love and loss. The singer has described her sound as “fuzz folk” which incorporates elements of shoegaze, lo-fi folk and goth. The artist is accompanied by bandmate Sumner Erhard on drums, percussion, and bass with contributions from Kelley Williams who adds keyboards and guitar to a couple of tracks and Nina de Freitas with backing vocals.
The album opens with `Disintegration` a brief aural soundscape to lead us in before `Mirror ‘allows us to wallow in a dreamy fairly mesmeric reverie with a shimmering guitar riff guiding us by the hand.
`BloodyMary` has a kind of wavering vocal and according to the singer is about “the conflict of having really good and really bad things happen to you simultaneously”. The vocals are barely audible at times above the hazy immersive backing and we enjoy a brief guitar reverb around the midpoint. There`s a real fragility to `Drive Thru` which had a sense of longing for something or someone that wasn`t quite obtainable. The latter part of the number becomes delightfully hypnotic.
`Haunted` ii read was written about moving past trauma and although the incident isn`t described it`s nevertheless a challenging listen, and one can only hope it was in some way cathartic. The musical accompaniment is almost dream pop which adds a further magnitude of tenderness to the number. I thought `Hand-Me-Downs` was a fairly enthralling listen 3 drew me in and had ended before I quite realised. There are some delightfully intricate guitar traces as this number progresses.
`Still’ is a discourse on enduring love of all kinds, not just the romantic kind and flows along gently with an almost tangible sense of hurt or sadness shared in the vocal delivery. A drum machine beat pulses through `What Else Is On` along with tinkled piano keys and vocals that sound sleepy and exhausted which may be a reference to the title.
`Rooks` is a more upbeat offering where each instrument such as bass, guitar, synth and drums all have their defined roles allowing the vocals to float over and in between as the track evolves. I thought `Hands` was a lot more inward-looking, seemingly reflecting on times passed. The musical support is relaxed and slower paced reflecting the mood of the lyrical content.
The album closes with `I Don`t Need It Like I Did` and it`s the most ethereal composition shared, shimmering chords, keys and an understated drumbeat allow Isadora`s vocals to really shine.
`Forget What Makes It Glow` is an album that will need time spent to really allow it`s many and varied shades to really seep in. The lyrics seem very personal and must have been cleansing, purifying maybe even purging for the artist and it will be interesting to discover what is to follow.
In the meantime, I`m sure you`ll enjoy this especially if you like artists such as This Mortal Coil, The Cocteau Twins and All About Eve.
Rating 8 / 10
REVIEW: ISADORA EDEN – FORGET WHAT MAKES IT GLOW (2023)
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