Considering
Chasms
' dramatic evolution from
On the Legs of Love Purified
's heavy shoegaze to
The Mirage
's dub- and techno-tinged catharsis, it's apt that
Jess Labrador
's third album reflects on the strength it takes to make massive life changes.
proved she was more than capable of harnessing powerful emotions, but where that record's grief and introspection blurred into an all-consuming haze,
Glimpse of Heaven
feels tight even when
Labrador
sings about confusion and despair. The crisp sonics not only mirror the album's mood of growing clarity, they reflect
's growth as a producer. Going deeper into
' electronic side than she did on
, she uses synths and beats as impressionistically as she used guitars and effects pedals on her earlier records. "Decay," one of the album's most exciting moments, recalls the work of her
Felte
labelmate
Public Memory
. Shrouded by subterranean drones,
confronts her trauma, singing "I survive memory" over a beat that sounds like zombies marching in lockstep. "Have you ever recreated pain because it's familiar?" she murmurs on "Parallel," backed by an elegant piano melody and cracked rhythm descended from the likes of
Massive Attack
and
Portishead
. Fittingly for a project named
,
uses space as an active element to magnify the drama of
's songs. On the mesmerizing title track, a snap pierces the air; on "Another Dream" and "Aftertaste," the languid pauses between her vocals convey the danger of being trapped by illusions and hopes. The album's spacious sound also showcases
's increasingly strong writing on songs such as "Submit," where the unrelenting rhyme scheme expresses the emptiness of going through the motions of having emotions. As delicate as
's shadows and whispers may sound, the album gives full weight to how hard it is to come to terms with the past and not let it poison the future. "Ache" begins the set with a surprising mix of sensuality and self-doubt, with
yearning for everything that the slinky beats and
Curve
-like guitar squalls surrounding her seem to embody. Things appear to reach a turning point with the somber warmth of "Things Have Changed," but "Waiting for the Spell to Break" leaves
adrift among tumbling percussion and cavernous washes of sound, closing the album on an ambivalent note that's more affecting and genuine than a simple happy ending. Caught somewhere between memories, dreams, and reality,
reaffirms that
' gift for expressing difficult emotions with transporting music hasn't changed at all. ~ Heather Phares