First of all, the music of songwriter Natalie Mering, known under the name Weyes Blood, is a journey through time. The American is 34 years old, but on her fifth album we hear classic songwriter pop from the 1970s, reminiscent of the musician Carole King or the Carpenters.
Timeless music that still works today. Clear piano melodies are just as much in focus on "And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow" as Mering's beautiful alto voice. The opener "It's Not Just Me, It's Everybody" could almost be placed on "Tapestry", King's legendary and tremendously successful album from 1971.
Crises in songs
The highlight of the new Weyes Blood record is the previously released "Grapevine", which slowly rises from a gentle folk ballad to an anthemic pop piece with church bells and choirs.
However, the journey through time ends abruptly as soon as you listen to the lyrics. "Trying to break away/ From the mess we made/ Oh we don't have time anymore/ To be afraid, anymore" it says at one point. Clear echoes of current times of crisis, one might think of the climate catastrophe - time is running out and we got ourselves into this mess.
The song "The Worst Is Done" brings back memories of the pandemic: "It's been a long strange year/ Everyone's sad (...) We slept walked through the years/ Didn't think we'd all lean in/ To hyper isolation ". Weyes Blood sings about sad people, their sleepwalking pastime and the isolation that consumes everything.
What Mering says about the album
Mering's personal diagnosis of the times is similarly bleak. "We live in a fully functional disaster," she said in a statement ahead of the new album's release. But there is hope, as she put it cryptically: "My heart is a glow stick that has been broken - it lights up my chest with sincerity."
She is referring to the album cover, which shows herself with a glowing light on her chest. She also takes up the theme of hope musically. We not only hear exhilarating guitar playing, but strings, bubbling harp sounds, a harpsichord or ethereal synthesizer. A kind of cathedral sound.
A little information about the musician
"And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow" can easily be imagined live in a church, which is also where Mering's origins lie. She grew up with very Christian parents, as she said in interviews, but eventually broke away from her parents' rigid religion. Her belief in the redeeming effect of music has stayed with her.
