During the early 2010s,
Glasser
's
Cameron Mesirow
was one of the most distinctive artists working in electronic art-pop, bringing a pensive wildness to her debut album,
Ring
, that stood out from the work of her contemporaries. Following the release of her second album,
Interiors
, she experienced a creative drain from which it took her years to recover. Gradually,
Mesirow
returned, issuing 2018's Sextape EP, 2022's single "New Scars," and the full-length
crux
, a reflection of how the years have refined her music.
's third album brings a new kind of movement to her tracks: instead of
's circular structures,
' sharply contoured forms, or Sextape's choppy peaks and valleys,
's tracks flow in undulating waves. This smoothness feels unifying, not boring, on songs such as "A Guide," which begins the album with serene expanses of melded electronics and vocals.
still employs unusual instrumentation artfully, even if it's not quite as showy as it was on
's previous albums. She updates Celtic folk influences on "Vine," where warbling synths echo Uilleann pipes and birdsong; on "Knaeve," pedal steel echoes her fluctuating emotions and vocal melody.
lives up to its name particularly well with "Thick Waltz," where
layers plucked metallic bass, strings, and harp with a transparent lightness. However,
's biggest leap forward is
's own voice. Her singing, and the words she sings, sound freer and more direct than they did on either
or
when she muses on the comings and goings of loved ones on "Easy" and communes with the worlds around her and inside her on "Mass Love." While
differs significantly from Sextape's pulsing, spoken-word dancefloor workouts, the EP's unguarded, confessional mood still lingers: "It's weird on the other side/With all these shards I hope to reassemble/From my life,"
sings over elastic beats on the hypnotic highlight "All Lovers." She showcases the Balkan singing techniques she learned during her hiatus -- and which brought her back to making music -- with the intricate harmonies of "Choir Prayer" and the operatic heights she reaches on "Ophrys."
may not have released much music in the decade following
, but
is a testament to the depth she's discovered within
's otherworldly yet immediate sound. ~ Heather Phares