SACRED BONES
Hilary Woods’ historic link to the pop-alt-rock band JJ72 could not feel further removed with every new release she puts out. 2018’s impressive Colt was a melancholy-tinged foray into Grouper/Mazzy Star territory, but on her latest, Birthmarks, she plunges even deeper into the darkness. Nerve-tingling pulses of industrial electronics hum menacingly alongside taut, intense string work, with her voice cutting through with a reassuring warmth. There’s a deeply cinematic, overarching tone to the record, it being so rich in atmosphere and ambience as to be engulfing. It’s a beautifully layered album that can be as tender and vulnerable as it can be powerful and all consuming. Woods feels as much sound designer here as she does songwriter, and the amalgamation of both worlds results in a stirring presence.