Spellling - haunted art pop soul

i think i played pantheon a thousand times in 17-18, it was a total favorite. i even pre-bought mazy and waited. then i went "meh" and never really gave it a chance.

i listened again to pantheon today, swooned as usual, and thought, i really need to listen listen to mazy fly.

fuck i was so dumb not to listen, it's totally infused with, and energized by, the same spirit that pantheon had. it's like, "i've got this great voice, and big weird spaces to fill up." how did i miss getting to listen to now? like, i'm almost wondering if i actually listened to it now?!

I only heard this for the first time yesterday and it's phenomenal. Her voice reminds of me of Nicolette a bit, that kind of out-of-context jazz singer feel. Love how gothy it is and then suddenly she'll make a turn into bright sunshine 60s pop.

Just in time to sling it a vote in the 2019 poll as well.

new song!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yACWrKIKeMs

Wow. Did not see that coming. Very exciting, though!

Even the hype copy sounds compelling:

"Venturing to push the boundaries of her primarily synth-based work, SPELLLING took on the ambitious task of orchestrating and self-producing an album that features an ensemble of 31 collaborating musicians. The Turning Wheel incorporates a vast range of rich acoustic sounds that cast SPELLLING’s work into vibrant new dimensions. The double LP is split into two halves — “Above” and “Below.” Lush string quartet shimmer combines with haunting banjo and wandering bassoon leads, as the album progresses from the more jubilant, warm, and dreamy mood of the “Above” tracks to the more chilling and gothic tone of the “Below” tracks. This progression is anchored by SPELLLING’s familiar bewitching vocal style that emphasizes the theatrical and folkloric heart of her songwriting.

The release of The Turning Wheel was delayed by almost a year from its intended release date in September 2020 but the forced pause ended up serving as a blessing in disguise. Navigating the chaos of recording and producing the remaining instrumentalists - either remotely or through rigid socially distanced studio sessions - was immensely difficult, however the delays ultimately opened up the opportunity for SPELLLING to dedicate more attention to her lyrics. The Turning Wheel demonstrates a distinct evolution of lyrical style, from the more incantatory and abbreviated approach of her previous work to a more expansive, narrative production.
The Turning Wheel is a manifestation of this considerable effort, time, and collaborative energy and will surely become a classic for its elegance. And while the artist’s eclectic influences, from soul to psych to pop to noise, remain present, something entirely new has also been born in the cosmic soup of this massive undertaking: a grand and genreless adventure. One that allows the artist’s authenticity to shine and also marks her as a conduit for something with a magic of its own."

New album rules. And I talked with her about it:

https://www.kqed.org/arts/13899310/spelllings-new-album-dazzles-with-surreal-storytelling-ornate-instruments

good job ned, really want to hear this

fuck yeah very excited for this

It's really, really striking -- she's still very much 'her' but has opened up new approaches and synthesizes everything quite well.

this album is wild. really theatrical and inventive

kinda blown away by just the first two tracks

and it really goes places wow, such a wild & expansive album

On first listen it's not really my thing at all, but it is very impressive and I like the way she really commits to it

i liked the last one but this feels like a big step up

absolutely an album of the year contender

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1010767078/spelllings-new-record-the-turning-wheel

she funded all the orchestration on the album with kickstarter & there's snippets of demos of "turning wheel" and "magic act" here

whole lot of clips of the recording sessions if you dig through the updates too

wow @ this album

this album is good but the songwriting feels a little played-straight for it to be a classic imo

idk if played straight is the right term, but she's clearly someone with a deep understanding of song structure.

it would not surprise me if she eventually composed and sang a broadway-style musical. i mean, there's no indication that she's interested in doing that, but you know, if she were interested.

Maybe not specifically that but to quote from my piece:

“The ‘Above’ songs, I’m thinking also about writing songs for other people, building a portfolio for writing and maybe writing for a film and scoring,” SPELLLING explains.

So keep it in mind! In a part I wasn't able to use due to space etc she talked about her work in theatrical events and the like as part of her MFA and creative life in general, so she has experience in the general area.

it definitely shines through, some of it with a kate bush-y art rock type lens. but i could definitely see her making movie music

(sorry for not reading your review ned)

there's a real classic soul/retro psych-pop style to a lot of these songs but she pulls it off so well

Many touchstones here--late-90s/early 2000s His Name Is Alive, Todd Rundgren, Stevie Wonder a la 'Secret Life of Plants,' 'One Kiss Can Lead To Anoyhet,' classic pre-auteur era Motown/Wrecking Crew, 'Pet Sounds,' Kate Bush, Patrice Rushen maybe, a little bit of 'Labyrinth', a good dose of theatricality (if not quite Musicals), others I'm not thinking of at the moment... But somehow it feels very personal and reflective of Spellling's unique perspective and interests, not a pastiche of influences.

If I had a complaint, I guess it would be thst it fully committed to the large-ensemble orchestral mode of the first half the whole way through. But I wonder if Covid/budgets made that infeasible? I love her classic electronics-driven mode from her first album, but it is exciting to hear her stretching out so much here.

Ah, here's her on her influences for the record:

https://pitchfork.com/features/moodboard/spellling-the-turning-wheel-interview/

yeah it's certainly not just mere pastiche or anything

she said it was a deliberate stylistic choice to have the first side be the "above" side with the orchestral pop songs & then the second side being the darker & weirder "below" side

"Always" kind of reminds me of "Don't Get Me Wrong" by the Pretenders.

This has got under my skin. Great record. I get a lot of Joanna Newsom from this but I wonder if I just mean Van Dyke Parks.

But I wonder if Covid/budgets made that infeasible?

It very much was a factor.

Ah! Thanks, Ned. A shame if Covid undercut her ambitions--but it's still a hell of a record.

Hopefully she'll continue to include the wide sound pallette on future records--her sensibilty and songwriting really deserves it.

I like this album. She is very Bay Area in all the best ways — not retro, but steeped in that era of psych.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8ZdHuhQqsQ

stripped down live session

just realized this album's kinda Erasure-y (especially, uh, "Always")