Words by Sam Zimmerman
Since the beginning of her career, Natalie Mering has succeeded at creating soft, vibrant landscapes for her incredibly dynamic voice to roam free. On her Sub Pop debut Titanic Rising (her fourth LP as Weyes Blood,) the landscape is fully submerged in what can only be described as an underwater tale for the ages. Where so many indie rock/pop records of the last few years have failed to act as a beacon of upliftment, Mering succeeds by giving her listeners an extended view of the bottom before inviting them to swim in the shallows.
The topics addressed on Titanic Rising — climate change, love, internal emptiness, fear of change — are all paired with instrumentation that is fittingly lush and organic. The album’s first single “Andromeda,” finds Mering longing for a relationship but unwilling to settle. Behind her, symphonic synthesized strings, smooth basslines, and trippy pedal steel shine like the early morning light through a bedroom window–it’s Sunday and you didn’t want to oversleep, anyway. On “Everyday” she sings “I need a love everyday” behind a choir of “Ba-Ba-Ba’s” strong enough to helm a parade. These formulas show up on indie rock records all the time — Mering is just better than most at executing them.
The third single, “Movies,” features Mering as she details her love for the big screen. Accompanied by dystopic arpeggiated synths that haven’t sounded this cinematic since Frank Ocean’s 2012 Channel Orange single “Pyramids,” her conversational lyricism stands out (“Why did so many get a rise out of me?/I love the movies”) and is practically impossible to ignore.
The remaining tracks on the second half of Titanic Rising could all be standouts on a less consistent release. “Mirror Forever” is a slow burner driven by reverberant percussion and crisp finger snaps, while “Wild Time” the album’s folkiest ballad, makes uses of sparse piano strikes in between lyrical passes. “Picture Me Better” the final track before the album’s instrumental closer, concludes with Mering “Waiting for the call from beyond/Waiting for something with meaning to come through soon”. It was her choice to sink, and she’ll come up for air when she’s ready.
You can find Weyes Blood on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
