Darling Of The Afterglow - Lydia Ainsworth (2017)

Ideated from: going through some of my “best of month” lists I’ve been keeping for years.

This is off the “best of month, April 2017” list. Other things on this list: Blue Rider Songs by Scott Hirsch, DAMN.by Kendrick Lamar, Black Terry Cat by Xenia Rubinos

I don’t do research on everything I listen to when I’m spinning through new releases. I might just hear a track or two that stick out to me and put them on the relevant playlists so I don’t forget them without looking further into it. Sometimes hearing something with no context can give you a more honest opinion of it, unclouded by what you’re “supposed” to hear. I apparently did that with Lydia Ainsworth when I heard this album. I read now that she has a background in film music and a previous album of more electronic art pop, which isn’t super apparent here. But that attention to detail and atmospherics is probably what made me notice this.

You can hear that more shocking art pop sensibility come through in places, but for the most part this is very mature and composed, not trying to shock, but still able to show off. This is a good example of what I like to call “sophisticated-ass grown-up music.”

Tracks I Liked

What Is It? - The one that really caught my attention. Something like an 80s rock nervous energy, but with so much extra polish and composure. It’s such a masterful and powerful track i had to force myself to move on to the others.

Spinning - Great momentum all the way through, with lots of delicious details the more you listen.

Into The Blue - The restraint at the beginning makes the ending pay off better. You spend the whole track wishing for a massive Florence and the Machine-style explosion, but while you don’t get it, you do get the full toolkit of atmospheric electronics and vocal effects that are her specialty.