Albums to watch

And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow

Weyes Blood

And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow

Fifth album of indie folk from the Santa Monica-born singer-songwriter Natalie Mering co-produced with Foxygen's Jonathan Rado

ADM rating[?]

8.0

Label
Sub Pop
UK Release date
18/11/2022
US Release date
18/11/2022
  1. 10.0 |   NME

    LA-based artist Natalie Mering cuts through this strange and isolating period of history with a subtle touch, carefully unearthing a scrap of hope in the process
    Read Review

  2. 9.0 |   No Ripcord

    Mering has concocted a successor to Titanic Rising that any gambler worth their salt would have no doubt taken the under on
    Read Review

  3. 9.0 |   Under The Radar

    Perhaps her grandest, most elegant work to date—a perfect culmination of her past experimentalism and deep devotion to graceful melodies that lift from the deepest parts of the soul up to the heavens
    Read Review

  4. 9.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    Mering has again enlisted Jonathan Rado as co-producer, and his maximalist, almost baroque approach mirrors the ambition of her philosophical songwriting
    Read Review

  5. 9.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Magnificently composed, Weyes Blood reaches out to cast your loneliness away
    Read Review

  6. 9.0 |   Beats Per Minute

    Her storytelling eye is sharp and her ear is honed to bring the most out of it melodically and instrumentally (with a tipped hat to Jonathan Rado’s excellent production)
    Read Review

  7. 9.0 |   Albumism

    By creating an odd discrepancy between the sounds of one bygone era and the immediate problems of this one, Mering carves out a wide space for contemplation
    Read Review

  8. 8.4 |   Pitchfork

    Natalie Mering’s majestic fifth record is a dispatch from the center of catastrophe—an idiosyncratic set of love songs and secular hymns with lushly orchestral arrangements
    Read Review

  9. 8.0 |   Rolling Stone

    A beautifully wrought pop record that grapples with the disquiet hanging over the globe
    Read Review

  10. 8.0 |   The Independent

    A beguiling blend of nostalgia and optimism
    Read Review

  11. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    Natalie Mering’s follow-up to the superb Titanic Rising sets 21st-century pessimism to one fantastic tune after another – and gently suggests this all may be deadpan humour
    Read Review

  12. 8.0 |   Evening Standard

    Her wonderful voice, and this stunning sound, can’t help but provide plenty of comfort
    Read Review

  13. 8.0 |   All Music

    Another step forward for Weyes Blood, building on the stunning sonic and emotional environments she tailored on Titanic Rising and using that lushness as a means of processing destabilized times
    Read Review

  14. 8.0 |   Gigwise

    A much needed take on the times
    Read Review

  15. 8.0 |   The Skinny

    Always emotionally direct, Natalie Mering lets us in once more on And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow, the second album in a trilogy
    Read Review

  16. 8.0 |   DIY

    It may be dark, but Weyes Blood is still aglow
    Read Review

  17. 8.0 |   Northern Transmissions

    Her fifth album comes as the second instalment of a trilogy that includes its predecessor, 2019’s Titanic Rising. Whereas Titanic Rising anticipated the onset of doom, And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow finds her swimming in its deep dark waters
    Read Review

  18. 8.0 |   Record Collector

    Over the course of the album, Mering makes the personal universal by expressing the need for human connection in the wake of prolonged isolation
    Read Review

  19. 8.0 |   God Is In The TV

    Produced like its predecessor alongside Foxygen’s Jonathan Rado, lyrics are expressed by Natalie Mering’s invariably coherent harmonizing over her brand of ecclesiastical and arty piano folk, with touches of the cinematically unsettling
    Read Review

  20. 7.8 |   Spectrum Culture

    You can criticize it for not doing much to innovate on what Mering accomplished on Titanic Rising, but all that matters is that it’s every bit as elegantly crafted as its predecessor
    Read Review

  21. 7.5 |   Paste Magazine

    Beautiful baroque-pop songs, elegantly arranged and patiently delivered, with her compelling alto voice front and center
    Read Review

  22. 7.0 |   musicOMH

    Natalie Mering’s fifth album is a compelling and beautifully told tale of coming out of the darkness
    Read Review

  23. 7.0 |   Slant Magazine

    Though And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow frequently harks back to Americana and folk forms, Mering injects the album’s 10 songs with contemporary flourishes
    Read Review

  24. 6.0 |   The Irish Times

    Mering throws a few curveballs in the mix: God Turn Me Into a Flower’s meditative, hymnal quality perhaps reflects her strict religious upbringing, but the cumbersome synthpop of Twin Flame seems misplaced
    Read Review

  25. 6.0 |   The Arts Desk

    The best material has something of deconstructed country music about it
    Read Review


blog comments powered by Disqus

Watch it

Roll over video for more options

Hear it

Latest Reviews

More reviews