Shannon Lay
That’s the spirit: LA singersongwriter opens her mind on fourth album.
IT MAKES sense that Shannon Lay should cover Syd Barrett’s Late Night on her new record; his feeling of being “alone and unreal” is very much Geist’s keynote mood. On the follow-up to 2019’s hazy August, Lay undertakes a gentle folk quest through inner space to find solid ground. “Have I always been who I am?” she asks on the Bridget St John reflections of Rare To
Wake, keyboards and handclaps stirring up silt under her voice and guitar. That sense of wonder telescopes out into A Thread To Find, Lay imagining hidden forces under concrete reality, or the title track’s warm-hearted communion. Contributors include
Julia Holter and Sharon Van Etten associate Devin Hoff, and Ty Segall, whose guitar solo on Shores is a contrasting jolt of worldly energy.
Delicate yet resolute, Geist is a beautiful spin through the windmills of Lay’s mind, unreal in the best ways.