The London-based gothic singer-songwriter returns this coming Friday with her fourth album. I have to admit that, outside of maybe a track or two, I’m not hugely familiar with A.A. Williams’ work. I know her general sound, but have never had the chance to check out a full album by her until now. So, to say I’m curiously excited would be an understatement! She’s become a big name in the scene in recent years, and I’m very ready to see why that is. Let’s dive right in!
‘Poison’ opens the album perfectly, setting a dark, alt tone right off the bat. From the piano notes to the jarring distorted guitar coming over the top, but the melodic vocals and simple drums bridging the gap excellently, I was curiously hooked. It builds to a big, steady chorus. It somehow has a similar vibe as the verse will still feeling grander, everything flowing through the track excellently. It reminds me a lot of Chelsea Wolfe immediately, and that’s hardly a bad thing! It’s like pop-infused gothic, and it’s really interesting. The bridge, while not much different, keeps a similar level and adds even more epicness to the final chorus. And that outro with the lead guitar line over… DAMN. It’s not the sort of thing I tend to go for often, but I really enjoyed the song!
The pace slows for ‘Wolves’, an almost menacing clean guitar chord progression starting things off before Williams’ powerful, low vocals come in over the top. The rest of the instrumentation and distortion explodes in for the chorus, before immediately dropping back out again after. The dynamics of the track are really awesome, a masterclass in writing and production. The atmosphere created throughout the track is truly fantastic, somehow having elements of black metal almost alongside the alt, pop and emo. It makes for really fascinating listening! The arrangement of the song is pretty simple, but it’s so grandiose and epic by the end that you just get swept up and lost in it. An easy early highlight!
Tracks like ‘Little by Little’ and ‘Hold It Together’ are both slower, goth-pop based tracks that absolutely explode into the massive, epic metal around the midway mark. Once again, there’s some elements of black metal in the guitaring. Between that and the synth/orchestral elements behind it, they add a level of massive to each track that is almost unrivalled. Each track takes the listener on a journey, which I imagine was the exact intent. The latter is my favourite of the two, but they are both good songs in their own right!
‘Outlines’ adds not only a proggy element to the sound, but also leans into the folk side of it. A lot of it is just Williams, a fantastically toned guitar and some other subtle instrumentation. Some of the heavier instrumentation builds in around the midway mark, but it feels more than earned at that point. It almost has a film score vibe to it, that’s how epic it’s gets. And Williams’ vocals over the top of the heavy stuff was honestly perfection, SO GOOD. And it all dropping back out again… *chefs kiss*. This is my favourite track on the album and easily makes it onto our playlist. Amazing stuff!
‘I’ve Seen Enough’ is the beautiful ballad of the album. The main focus is on just the simple piano chords and the effortless vocals. There are other instruments that build in throughout, but stuff like the strings and drums only add to the other two elements. The lyrics are utterly fantastic too, packed with emotion and fitting the tone of the song perfectly. The moodiness and almost ethereal captured here is truly special, and I’ve already given it multiple listens just to fully capture the bittersweet beauty. The whole last almost couple of minutes just being instrumentation building and swelling is honestly perfection. It’s another track I cannot get enough of, and I’d recommend it to absolutely anyone reading this. Fantastic stuff, and another massive high point of the release!
A similar vibe continues through ‘The Veil’ and ‘Breathe’ (though the latter is a guitar inside of piano), though neither hit quite as hard as ‘I’ve Seen Enough’. However, ‘Just a Shadow’ was another big highlight track for me! The almost poem-like opening is amazing, and the moody, almost grunge-like chorus is fitting and phenomenal. It’s maybe my favourite chorus on the album too, the melody soaring and rather catchy! It follows a pretty standard formula for the album, but all the elements just add up amazingly here!
‘It Won’t Rain Forever’ returns to a similar formula as the opening tracks, while closer ‘The Gentle Harm’ is another epic, slow build song that really feels like an amalgamation of everything before it. It has a bit of everything, the beautiful piano intro, the soaring, melodic vocals and dark lyricism, and the massive distorted guitars and drums later on. It’s epic, and the best way to close out an album like this! Another highlight on an album packed full of them!
Overall: I wasn’t too sure on this album heading in, but it won me over more and more throughout. Sure, it won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but I thought it wouldn’t be for me and was more than pleasantly surprised, so it’s well worth a try if you’re on the fence. There is a lot that’s similar, but it all fits together like the perfect atmospheric puzzle, and goes by surprisingly quickly. There are two or three tracks in particular that honestly blew me away! Williams has a big new fan in me, and I’ll certainly be spinning this again plenty in the weeks and months to come!
The Score: 8.5/10