As we approach the 25th January, the release date of Sarah Louise’s new album Nighttime Birds and Morning Stars, her lead singles Chitin Flight and, released today, Rime, hint at an album that pushes her boundaries of exploration further than she has ever done before.
While this album seems sonically far removed from Deeper Woods (one of our Best 100 Albums of 2018 and one of Glenn’s Top 10 Albums of 2018) it is still very much inspired by the natural world, something that becomes ever more apparent with each listen. Although the offerings here dig deeper than ever before it also feels like a natural progression of her work, just as Deeper Woods did from the House and Land project. The welcoming surprise comes in her unique approach and use of the 12-string guitar as she takes it to a truly cosmic level.
Approaching her 12-string guitar anew, she uses digital manipulation to zoom in on ordinarily imperceptible tones and textures, magnifying these into deep devotional drones and subtle rhythmic flourishes. Almost all evidence of her playing has been eradicated, Louise severing the connection between instrument and sound to create a free-floating cloud of sound that swells and ebbs with a lifelike pulse.
Broadening beyond folk forms, she turns streams of raw electric guitar into entire oceans of aural texture. Pieces mine components of Appalachian musical traditions that Louise is steeped in, as well as spiritual jazz, contemporary classical, and new age, while drawing intensely personal inspiration from the natural world. The innovative songs share warmth and compositional tendencies with Louise’s earlier output; however, remarkably, Sarah Louise’s stunning sophomore Thrill Jockey album breaks through the boundaries of solo guitar, bearing little resemblance to its predecessors.
Pre-order Nighttime Birds and Morning Stars (also available on pink vinyl):
https://thrilljockey.com/products/nighttime-birds-and-morning-stars