#lovegaze

[guipaulin]

Didnt post this drawing here at the time it was topical, so here it is now, still supporting all those people trying to denounce the abuses and aberrations happening today. 

[questdesign]

[sinceileftyoublog]

Nailah Hunter Album Review: Lovegaze

(Fat Possum)

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Devotion has been a big theme throughout Nailah Hunter's musical life. Sure, much has been made about her early days; the daughter of a Belizean pastor, Hunter played drums and guitar and sang in the church choir. When she enrolled at CalArts for music and first took a harp lesson, she committed to the instrument, purportedly studying it for 6 hours a day. And over the past few years, she's diligently developed a cosmic ambient voice, releasing various EPs and singles and collaborating with everyone from Montreal shoegazers No Joy to generative music app Endel (via their Leaving Records series). But it's on her debut full-length album Lovegaze where the idea of being steadfast finds its way into every element, from Hunter's clear musical prowess to the songs' themes.

First and foremost, if some of her earliest material floated along, Hunter's process on Lovegaze seems much more deliberate. She wrote the demos while spending time on the coast of the English channel, on a borrowed Celtic harp, before fleshing out the songs with producer Cicely Goulder. From the get-go, Hunter's vocals hold their weight against the instrumentation, rasping over soft piano lines, ripples of cymbal, thumping percussion, and textured soundscapes on opener "Strange Delights". On "000", she draws out syllables to make her voice an instrument: "Sparrow on / Billow, yawn." On closer "Into The Sun", her soulful contralto is much more upfront in the mix, a complement to tactile harp textures as she sings of dreams of "beheadings and goose-feather bedding," giving off certain traditional folk vibes.

Overall, Lovegaze's songs' styles are much more varied than the rest of Hunter's discography to date. "Through The Din" builds into a trip hop sway over the top of a circular harp melody. "Finding Mirrors" cascades down a trap beat. Free jazz elements creep up on the title track and "Adorned", icy drum skitters and low-mixed saxophone, respectively, appearing like background characters you nonetheless can't take your eyes off of. Still, there are songs like "Cloudbreath", an instrumental foray back into ambient harp and synth collage, that recall her earliest work.

Perhaps the best part of Lovegaze, though, is Hunter's deft treatment of the work we put into ourselves, each other, and our surroundings. "Finding Mirrors" and "Bleed" portray the exhausting nature of love. On the latter, Hunter coos and cries, fighting for someone or something while longing for someone else to fight for her, desiring reciprocation. And standout "Adorned" is inspired by the human tendency for destruction--of natural spaces and other people--as Hunter sings with a vulnerable warble over a synth hum. "Space is my only relief / Space, my only reprieve," she sings. Later on in the song, she layers ghostly backing vocals as if to illustrate a collection of living things, together in their aloneness. With Lovegaze, Hunter moves beyond mere sound composition to build a cohesive world.

[aj-artisan]

Pup love gaze #artisan #artisanchef #puppy #cute #dog #doglife #picture #afternoon #thursday #lovegaze #pup #trick #play

[wldpttrns]

Us #LazyLegs want to give a huge thanks to everyone who has listened to our new single "Sparks" this week!! We've hit over 730 listens online, that's craaaay!! We're getting ready to play shows this summer as we finish our debut album #shoegaze #lovegaze ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💅🏻💅🏻💅🏻💅🏻💅🏻💅🏻💅🏻✨✨✨✨✨

[worshiponew]

[luvtessascott]

The way he looks at her <3

[shoegazekid]

 Glorious wall of sound from Sweden http://starhorse.bandcamp.com/ #shoegaze #dreampop