Lifter + Lighter

Album review

Chicago-based experimental musician Natalie Chami performs as one-third of Good Willsmith, who have released over half a dozen albums since 2012, but her solo project TALsounds has been equally prolific. As with the group, her solo work is largely improvised, but it's much less chaotic or messy. Her songs tend to be mellow and introspective, with lush synthesizers billowing around her ethereal vocals. However, there's still an element of playfulness and joy to what she does. Her 2016 solo effort Lifter + Lighter seems a bit more melancholy and moody, but not necessarily darker or less hopeful. On several tracks, the synths swell up and her sighing voice seems to be on the verge of tears. "Indecision" and "Solace" are the lengthiest tracks, and they're nearly heartbreaking. Elsewhere, she uses slow beats and squirmy synths, ending up with warped slow jams. "I'm Just Around" sounds like something from the first Jessy Lanza album, but more down-and-out and druggy. In sharp contrast, the next track ("I Am Why") features rapid, choppy vocal loops and pounding beats, with additional vocals rising above everything. "Induce" is more unsettling, with skewed tones slowly swaying in and out of each other. "Close My Eyes" is much more blissful and daydream-like, building up several wet layers of squirmy, babbling synths and shuddering vocals. Emotionally heavy, Lifter + Lighter is easily Chami's most focused work to date.

© Paul Simpson /TiVo