When
Hilary Woods
emerged from a self-imposed, 12-year music hiatus in 2014, the one-time
JJ72
bassist was inspired by experimental filmmakers rather than musicians to begin creating again. Her first solo EPs and debut album,
Colt
, reflected a gradual expansion in palette and ambition while remaining immersed in delicate, eerie atmospheres. Second album
Birthmarks
tilts the balance of acoustic and electronic textures further toward manipulated sound and experiments with noise, field recordings, and even less-structured song. It was recorded with experimental noise producer and recording artist
Lasse Marhaug
(
Jenny Hval
,
Merzbow
). Tracked while
Woods
was heavily pregnant, the album explores the idea of "inner transmutation" while themes of the natural world are revealed in track titles like "Orange Tree," "Mud and Stones," and "There Is No Moon." The set opens with quiet, flickering noise, synthesized wind, and echoing, plodding bass tones -- like a beast lumbering through an underground cavern in the dead of night -- before
' murmured vocals enter. "Tongues of Wild Boar" continues with low-range strings, piano, glockenspiel, and additional tonal wind-like noises under the singer's near-static, chromatic vocal line. While
remains in a spooky, quite evocative setting throughout, the suffocating atmosphere lightens on "Orange Tree," which introduces arpeggiated guitar and the suggestion of a drum kit over drone. "Mud and Stone" adds saxophone to the mix, while "Cleansing Ritual" is a buzzing, whirring, jingling, dedicated noise track with no discernable vocals. With a modest playing time of just over half-an-hour, the album closes on the spacious "There Is No Moon," which relies on tonal piano, whispered vocals, and a repeatedly plucked muted string. An ethereal wall of sustained tones, including voices, slowly builds in the background of the track but never rises above a low hum. An album that requires patience and willing immersion despite its relatively short length, it succeeds in transporting if not transforming. ~ Marcy Donelson