On
Below a Massive Dark Land
,
Naima Bock
makes it clear that her music is born out of her refusal to stay still -- physically or artistically. Touring in support of her acclaimed debut album,
Giant Palm
, allowed her to tour the world and grow more comfortable as a performer; both of these souvenirs can be felt on her second full-length. As on
Bock
's songs go where they will, leaving her someplace completely different than where she started. "Gentle" begins like a prayer and ends like a party, with woodwinds, reeds, strings, brass, and a choir joining her as she contemplates her inability to settle down. The effect is nearly as transcendent as her debut's title track, but where "Giant Palm" used synths to lift her to the heavens, this time she employs saxophone to elevate songs such as "Kaley," where it complements the '70s glam rock guitars perfectly.
's choice to work with co-producers
Jack Osborne
and
Joe Jones
rather than her previous collaborator
Joel Burton
emphasizes how much of
was her own creation and also affords her a change of pace. She relies less on studio-created moods in favor of concise yet full-sounding songs that emphasize how far she's come since her debut. Her growth as an arranger is apparent when the trumpet kicks in on "Moving" in a moment of elegiac perfection. Her development as a writer is also remarkable:
penned
's songs in as much solitude as she could get, stealing moments on tour and on vacation. She manages to hang onto this candid introspection even as songs like "Age" and "Feed My Release," which loosely resembles a less self-loathing version of
Nico
's "These Days," brim over with contributions from others.
brings love's paradoxes into sharp focus on "Further Away," observing "But loving is easier than that/When I'm further away" over the prickly tones of a bouzouki she picked up in Greece. "Takes One" is even more pointed, intertwining post-breakup bitterness, devastation, and hope as skillfully as the harmonies surrounding her illustrate her isolation. Indeed, some of the album's most powerful moments are the loneliest; "My Sweet Body" and "Star" are so personal, it feels like eavesdropping to listen to them. Far from a glossy attempt to make
's music more palatable to a wider audience,
is more restless -- and more confident -- than
. It's an active, engaging album from an artist whose travels ultimately brought her more knowledge of herself. ~ Heather Phares