The Turning Wheel

by Spellling

Overview

Chrystia Cabral's third album as Spellling takes her bewitching, genre-blurring sound in a more organic direction while retaining the magical, fantasy-inspired themes that made her previous releases stand out. Just as Mazy Fly was a major departure from the loop-based avant-folk and hazy soul of Pantheon of Me, much of The Turning Wheel moves away from Mazy Fly's darkwave and gothic influences, expanding on its more progressive pop elements instead. Realized with the help of a cast of 31 musicians, the album's arrangements are intricate and pristinely focused -- the messier experimental impulses of Cabral's prior records are absent here. On the album's more theatrical moments, she sings like a hybrid of Kate Bush and Michael Jackson, and it doesn't seem far-fetched to imagine her reaching a similar level of ambition in the future. Her melodies are often stronger and more playful than before, particularly on the joyous opener "Little Deer." "Emperor with an Egg" contains some of her strangest, most outlandish lyrics as well as one of her most exquisite arrangements. As escapist as her songs can be, they're also highly introspective and even vulnerable -- she states "I want to live alone inside my fantasies" during "Always," and she asks to be saved as she's floating in space during the grand "The Future." The stunning centerpiece "Boys at School" is the album's most ambitious song as well as its most soul-baring, containing the refrain "I hate the boys at school/They never play the rules" as well as the drawn-out admission "I'm meaner than you think, and I'm not afraid of how lonely it's going to be." "Queen of Wands" and "Magic Act" both recall the woozy, spooky synth pop of Mazy Fly, but taken in different directions; the former opens with an almost Baroque-sounding string section, and the latter has a slow-burning lead guitar solo. As with Cabral's previous album, The Turning Wheel has several standouts along with a handful of other tracks that don't leave as much of an impression. However, this is undeniably her best-produced work yet, and clearly demonstrates her impressive growth as an artist. ~ Paul Simpson

Product Details

Release Date:	06/25/2021
Label:	SACRED BONES
UPC:	0843563136287

Tracks

1. Little Deer
2. Always
3. Turning Wheel
4. The Future
5. Awaken
6. Emperor With an Egg
7. Boys at School
8. Legacy
9. Queen of Wands
10. Magic Act
11. Revolution
12. Sweet Talk

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Spellling   Primary Artist
Lidia Rodriguez   Sax (Baritone)
Milo Jimenez   Guitar (Acoustic)
Macgregor Munson   Banjo
Giulio Xavier Cetto   Bass
Genevieve Tabby   Cello
Amy Ahn   Harp
Calliope Brass Quintet   Brass
Dharma Mooney   Choir/Chorus
Donia Jarrar   Piano
Ezra Teshome   Choir/Chorus
Jennifer Hinkle   Trombone (Bass)
Jinty McTavish   Violin
Noor Al-Samarrai   Choir/Chorus
Sara Mayo   Trombone
Satcher Hsieh   Guitar (Electric)
Lisa Reed   Guitar (Electric)
Destiny Muhammad   Harp
Del Sol String Quartet   Strings
Carolyn Walter   Bassoon,Clarinet,Clarinet (Bass)
Monica Benson   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Sabrina Tabby   Violin
Tenzin Choegyal   Vocals
Doug Stuart   Bass
Rita Andrade   Viola
Rebecca Steinberg   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Erin Paul   Horn
Javier Santiago   Piano
Jacob Richards   Percussion
Janak Preston   Percussion

Technical Credits

Aleks Ozolins   Engineer
Chrystia Cabral   Composer
Nick Marchione   Brass Arrangement
Adrian Morgan   Mastering
Drew Vandenberg   Mixing,Additional Production
John Finkbeiner   Engineer
Maryam Qudus   Mixing
Spellling   Composer,Producer
Jonny Esser   Mastering
Mike Johnson   Mastering
Ted Case   String Arrangements