Weyes Blood: And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow

Three years ago, Weyes Blood introduced us to her ongoing musical trilogy with its exposition, Titanic Rising. A slightly psychedelic tour of languid chamber-pop tracks peppered with slide guitar flourishes, the record set the stage for singer-songwriter Natalie Mering’s next move. With her new release, And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow, Mering is engulfed in Act II, grappling with loneliness and futility in an isolated world. Her text weaves around grandiose orchestral textures, tapestries of vocal harmonies, and easygoing folk-rock accompaniments. While Titanic Rising questioned the nature of relationships, this album finds Mering reaching out desperately for them. Her plaintive, resonant melody on the opening track embodies the yearning to truly be known by another. “God Turn Me Into A Flower” is a chills-inducing, zero-gravity vocal showcase about the painful awareness of being perceived by others. Nearing the record’s close, the sunny and acoustic “The Worst Is Done” depicts Mering peeking her head out the door, surveying a world irreversibly altered by the past few years. And In The Darkness expertly captures the whirlwind of simply existing these days, a mélange of skepticism, discouragement, and hope for something better. We can only wait for what time will bring until Mering concludes this trilogy one day.