Cross Record

Album review

Emily Cross began recording her third album as Cross Record while living in seclusion in Mexico, following her divorce from a former musical collaborator. Among other significant life changes, she also quit drinking and became a death doula, assisting people with the dying process -- she's even started performing Living Funeral ceremonies, in order to help the dying prepare for the final stage of life. All of these occurrences inform the composition and sound of Cross Record's self-titled album, the artist's most daring effort to date. Starting with the vocal-heavy initial recordings made in Mexico, she fleshed out the songs with musicians and producers Theo Karon and Andrew Hulett, as well as additional contributions from producer/multi-instrumentalist Ben Babbitt, cellist Chris Votek, violist Lauren Baba, and drummer Beth Goodfellow. Cross' intimate vocals are at the center of the ever-shifting sonic landscape, where conventional acoustic and electric sounds are melded and shaped into an intricately detailed, amorphous drift. While the album starts out slow and hazy, drums start making a greater presence during the rippling "The Fly," while "Hollow Garden" and "Y/o Dragon" both incorporate jittery, bass-heavy electronic beats. It almost seems necessary to listen to Cross Record a few times just to process the album's production, then move on to concentrating on the lyrics. Some of them directly address Cross' life experiences; "Face Smashed, Drooling" describes her emotional state after she stopped drinking alcohol, while "I Release You" is a spacious rumination on the end of her relationship. The lyrics of "Sing the Song" are a sequence of commands, sentiments, and life decisions: build a house, settle down, have a child, throw dreams away. The album purposely seems open-ended, as Cross has no clue what's in store for her after this point in her life, but her willingness to explore unknown territory is the main reason her music is so captivating.
© Paul Simpson /TiVo