Weyes Blood 'And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow'

Technological agitation, narcissism fatigue, and a vast galaxy of isolation define the new normal that keeps Weyes Blood (Natalie Mering) up at night. These themes form the backbone of her latest album, 'And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow', the celestial folk follow-up to her acclaimed 'Titanic Rising'. While 'Titanic Rising' offered a premonition of impending doom, 'And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow' finds Mering in the midst of it, searching for a way out from the chaos of algorithms and ideological conflicts. “We’re in a fully functional shit show,” she confesses, describing her heart as a “glow stick that’s been cracked,” illuminating her earnestness amidst the turmoil.

The album opens with “It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody,” a hauntingly beautiful exploration of universal interconnectedness against society’s unraveling. Throughout the record, Mering reflects on themes of isolation, as in “Grapevine,” a lullaby-like account of a broken human connection, and “God Turn Me into a Flower,” an ethereal dirge symbolizing collective hubris. Even with the deceptively breezy pop tune “The Worst Is Done,” she warns of dark days. “Chaos is natural,” she muses, “but so is negentropy, the tendency toward order.” These songs may not offer solutions, but Weyes Blood brings clarity to the disillusionment of our times.