SHANNON LAY
Geist SUB POP
9/10
Angeleno’s hushed, heavenly fourth
LULA CUCCHIARA,RAENI MILLER
If Shannon Lay’s solo expression has been a steady blooming across three albums, Geist represents its full-blown folkish splendour. Not that it’s at all showy – subtlety is her watchword – but these 10 (mostly acoustic) songs shine with a luminous intensity. Lay’s voice is a thing of burnished beauty, quiet and warm but with a certain gravity, while filling the songs out is a team of (remote) players including old pal Ty Segall, who delivers a brief, ringing solo on “Shores”. Picking highlights is tough but the divinely harmonised “Rare To Wake” and “Untitled”, with its dappled keys and jazz-slanted guitar flourishes, are among them.