It’s almost autumn, and Delaney West has created a collection perfect for cozy days. Fans of indie folk should save the date for September 18, when West releases her intimate debut album, “Siren.” These eight thoughtful tracks were recorded locally at Submarine Sound Studio with Ben Morey manning production. The record is simple and spellbinding, like listening to an old friend.
Opener “Disaster” finds gentle, angelic vocals reflecting on unrequited love with meditative guitar providing the perfect soundtrack to a thunderstorm or a morning cup of coffee. “Feel Me” is calming, like a hand through the hair, with emotion that can take listeners up to the clouds. Though stripped down to the bone, West’s music is not without intensity, and it’s easy to get lost in the album.
“Little Glow” feels warm-hearted and nostalgic, stirring vocals with Sean Mulligan’s melancholy viola and bass from Greg Maslyn, while “Siren” invites you in like the call of the creature in an old tale from the sea.
The instrumentals of “The Catch” feel high-spirited, yet the lyrics drive a crack in the heart, telling a story of love once had and lost: You don’t have to choose me forever, but can you choose me now? West’s voice and Mulligan’s viola work together to conjure a tear that builds to a waterfall. It’s the kind of song that sticks with you long after the last note fades out.
To create art in any medium is to connect, and West’s music fuses a relationship with the beholder: soft, familiar and welcoming. Utterly human, “Siren” holds listeners’ hands in its grasp until the finale, and we close the door feeling a sense of belonging. The replay button sits there for us when we feel like returning home.
