NEW ALBUMS
PENELOPE TRAPPES
Penelope Three HOUNDSTOOTH 8/10
Brighton-based Australian singer and composer lets some light in
Occupying a shadowy realm somewhere near the dreamworld of ’80s 4AD, Éliane Radigue’s dronebased soundscapes and Grouper’s decomposed folk songs, the music of Penelope Trappes’ first two almost-self-titled albums was both haunted and haunting. Her trilogy’s last instalment possesses the same murky allure. Yet with their themes of healing and metamorphosis, these songs mark a shift away from the grief that filled 2018’s Penelope Two and towards greater expressions of warmth and wonder. That sense of liberation extends to Trappes’ approach to her vocals. More often wispy and whispery in her earlier work, her voice assumes new strength and vividness here as Trappes dives deep into torch-song mode for “Red Yellow” and multitracks herself into a celestial choir for “Blood Moon”.