Description
LABEL: Sacred Bones Records
VINYL RELEASE DATE: 10/7/2022
ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE: 2022
VARIANT: Transparent Cloudy Clear Vinyl LP + 7″
Indigo Sparkes majestic second full-length album Hysteria is a sweeping work, one that possesses a rare, reflective power. On it, she examines love, loss, her history, and the emotional upheaval surrounding those sensations: her words tell the stories, and the sounds act them out. Its a diary built for big stages. Hysteria arrives just a year after her striking, minimalist debut, Echo. Here, though, Sparke offers an expansive body of workits a complex collection that expands her sound and outlook.
Work on Hysteria began at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, while Sparke was stranded in quarantine in her native Australia. After moving back to New York in the spring of 2021, Sparke finished writing the albums 14 songs and decamped upstate with producer Aaron Dessner (The National, Taylor Swift). Originally we were going to co-write, but after he heard my demos he said, Theres so much in here already, Sparke recalls on how Dessner, who also contributes instrumentation along with guitarist Shahzad Izmailyand drummer Matt Barrick (The Walkmen, Muzz), got involved in bringing Hysteria to life.
Centering Sparkes powerful vocals throughout, Hysteria is packed with big guitars and layered instrumentation that practically acts as the albums lungs, giving every note breath. From the pulsing immediacy of Infinite Honey to the soaring God Is a Womans Name and Hold Ons towering chorus, this is music that sounds huge even as it zooms in on the trials and turmoils of ones inner life. You can hear Sparke reflecting on reconciliation, grief, hope, and the passage of time on the perpetually building Pressure in My Chest and the airy, Joni Mitchell-esque title track, which finds her embracing a gorgeous upper register over gently strummed guitar. Set Your Fire on Me builds and bursts not unlike Angel Olsens own raw folk-rock expressionismand then theres the stark opener and first single Blue, which acts as a cosmic road map for Sparkes own journey in life.
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