Estonian dreampop reductionist Kristin Reiman takes a poetic, crepuscular and weightless fusion of Cocteau Twins, Grouper, Delphine Dora and Enya for a ghostly, elegant spin for quiet times.
Reiman's enchanted soundscapes have evolved considerably since their last album, 2020's foggy and experimental 'Cusp'. On 'Health', Reiman centers their vocals, singing dreamily through filigree nets of reverb and delay. It's easy to link these sounds to Grouper's cloudy, melancholy sketches, but Reiman isn't making ambient folk pop exactly, they're channeling older, more mysterious sounds that harmonize with Enya or Liz Fraser's Celtic memories. 'I don't want the money' is a beatless swirl of almost wordless harmonies that duck and dive across sustained synth drones, like a church choir singing Carnatic music. Misty and haunted, it's music that feels rich with history, using contemporary production techniques to smear acapella improvisations into half-heard lullabies.
Reiman adds guitar on 'Mangeler', and obscures their voice even more, transforming it into waves of breath and tone over rhythmic delayed plucks. On 'Thirty', the album's stand-out track, the guitar is swapped for electric piano, and over its blunted lilt, Reiman's accented vocals are crystal clear. Charming and intimate, it sounds like pop music crafted for an audience of one, referencing Harold Budd's delicate pianowork on 'Just another let it die', like a new take on his Cocteau Twins collaboration 'The Moon and the Melodies'. Reiman's voice is reassuringly vulnerable, and while they use reverb liberally, there's precious little pitch correction, giving them the emotional space to toy with perceptions.
Even when their music sounds more radio-friendly, like on the lilting 'Stairclimb', it's still touched by ghosts, with eerie chorals underpinning Reiman's faint words and even fainter guitar and synth riffs. There's a narcotic, surreal quality to their songs that ends with a question mark rather than a period, and reaches through the familiar into the unknown. Very good.
