Albums to watch

Tragic Magic

Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore

Tragic Magic

Debut full-length collaboration between the ambient musician Barwick and harpist Lattimore co-produced by Trevor Spencer

ADM rating[?]

7.7

Label
Bigwax
UK Release date
16/01/2026
US Release date
16/01/2026
  1. 9.2 |   Sputnik Music (staff)

    It's like the warm sun shining on your face in the springtime, an ode to your precious childhood that you hold near and dear to your heart, and for me, that's exactly what I look for in this type of ambient/new age music
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  2. 9.0 |   All Music

    Simply put, Tragic Magic is an affecting, powerfully gentle testament to the alchemy that comes from sharing the burdens - and opportunities - of hard times with love and creativity
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  3. 8.0 |   The Skinny

    The combination of ambient luminary Julianna Barwick and celestial harpist Mary Lattimore makes for gorgeous listening
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  4. 8.0 |   The Quietus

    Each creative filament feels fully charged, dancing across tides of mercurial water. Lattimore’s harp echoes and elevates a time that harks back to a more distant past and Barwick’s synths and siren-calls keeps us in the glass-edged moment
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  5. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    The composers’ first collaborative album ebbs from epic, cinematic heights to delicate and dreamy lullabies
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  6. 8.0 |   Beats Per Minute

    In the end, Tragic Magic feels like a response to the wildfires they’d suffered through. Rather than capture the tragedy and strife of it all, they sought – and created – refuge
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  7. 8.0 |   Mojo

    By turns numinous and spectral. Print edition only

  8. 7.9 |   Spectrum Culture

    What Tragic Magic understands early on is that limitation can be a compositional force rather than an obstacle
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  9. 7.4 |   Pitchfork

    On their debut album together, two longtime friends and peers synthesize their respective styles, seeking out new directions and new ways of connecting
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  10. 7.0 |   Uncut

    Lattimore's harp is beautifully clean, and Barwick's vocals less affected than usual. Print edition only

  11. 7.0 |   Exclaim

    Though it may be categorized as experimental or avant-garde, Tragic Magic is an accessible and rewarding listen. It's music you can get lost in, or get lost to
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  12. 6.5 |   Northern Transmissions

    While sonically ethereal, Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore’s collaborative full-length Tragic Magic starts to feel greatly repetitive as it progresses
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