Description
On her second album, the LA-based songwriter offers an intimate, lo-fi set of songs that seem unearthed from the dusty vaults of time. Lael Neale says that sometimes the hardest thing to do is the simplest thing, but she certainly makes simplicity work in her favour on Acquainted With Night. This pared-back album leans heavily into Neale’s connection with poetry. The ability to distill so much emotion in just a few words prove to be her strongest suit and the most compelling characteristic of this record. With only a few instruments, but mainly Neale’s voice and an Omnichord, the ten tracks are like stepping into a meditating mind.
The songs were inspired by Neale’s time living in Los Angeles and childhood in rural Virginia. All of the songs are spare and sun-soaked, though she wrote them late into the night while attempting to throw off the bounds of her perfectionism and let idiosyncrasies and happy mistakes settle into the music. The simplicity of the album’s production lends an incredible sense of intimacy to the music, and succeeds in bringing listeners into the wandering, winding paths of Neale’s psyche. The best thing about this album is that Lael Neale makes something as routine as grocery shopping or noticing the details in your beloved’s face into pure poetry.
