Hilary Woods - Night CRIÚ (2025)

Another female voice from Dublin this week, but it couldn't be more different than the energetic post-punk of SPRINTS. Five years after the fantastic Birthmarks, the ambient pop slash drone soundscapes artist Hilary Woods comes back with a surprising change in her music, shifting the style towards artistic slowcore sounds.

As the description of the album suggests, Woods focuses a lot on her voice here. But I can't say the vocals really feel like the main focus when they are joined by some beautiful instrumental slowcore-like instrumental sections. I can't NOT feel like the ambient/drone element was traded for the artsy and I quite appreciate it. The atmosphere doesn't change though: the music is as moody and intimate as ever, it's like listening to whispers of a loved one but there are also violins.

The description of the album says a lot of things, I'm not gonna try to understand the more contrived fragments, but I'm sure smarter people may find it inspiring. I will stick to the music as it feels strangely straight-forward, even when Woods is joined by a child choir (actually, I really like Taper), and artistically satisfying.

Night CRIÚ costs 9 USD.

Check: Taper

Country: Ireland

Genre: experimental pop

Label: Sacred Bones

Hilary Woods - Birthmarks (2020)

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