SUSANNE SUNDFØR

Music For People In Trouble 6/10

Inspired by a global trip of self-discovery, and modestly fashioned to address the world’s growing anxiety, Sundfør’s first for Bella Union suffers from an occasional excess of affectations, her melismatic vocal style an acquired taste. Fortunately, she’s best at her most intimate, this sixth collection’s dominant quality. Distant choral harmonies and pedal steel decorate the acoustic “Reincarnation” and surging “Undercover”, while there are hints of Joni Mitchell in the clarinetembellished“Bed time Story ”. But both the title track’s musique concrète and “Mountaineers”, which wafts from introductory drones to navigate an unlikely path between Anna Von Hausswolff and Enya, test the patience.