Photo by Cáit Fahey

Artist: Maria Somerville

Location: Galway, Ireland

Buzz: The ongoing deluge of dream-pop and of shoegaze revivalism has for the most part rendered artists leaning into one of a few dimensions, be it My Bloody Valentine’s densely amorphous wall of sound worship, that of a much heavier ‘gaze inspired by hardcore circles seeking dispondent refuge through softer edges, or a more lucid form of power-pop haze that still feels like the particles are floating closer to this Earth than they are the heavens. The apparition of Maria Somerville is wondrously refreshing — a calming experience against of all of that, purifying the noisier feedback and pop in static with something more considered in seeking out transcendence through minimalism and textures with intent while meandering between the delicate and loud.

After turning ears her way with the release of her self-released 2019 debut album, All My People, her sophomore follow-up, Luster, finds an appropriate home on 4AD that makes her a kindred torchbearer to the label’s own past dream-pop celestials the Cocteau Twins while also defining the Galway songwriter’s own new age spirit. She herself is an artist of multiple sonic dimensions. Of its standouts, “Garden” absorbs the walls of chamberic post-punk within cavernous waters and haunted echoes, “Halo” establishes Somerville as an other-worldly presence in swells of ambient mystique, while “Stonefly” and “Violet” are tripped in quiet rhythmic bursts of ambient pop bursting in color from the greyscale. It’s a listen that goes beyond any known borders, and the physical realm for that matter.

Sound: Julee Cruise, Trish Keenan, and Mimi Parker meeting in the heavens.

Recommended: “Garden”, “Stonefly”, and “Violet” from her recently-released sophomore album, Luster

Fall Tour Dates:

Maria Somerville’s Luster is available now on 4AD.