On her third album
Blood to Bone, New Zealand pop singer/songwriter
Gin Wigmore decides to go all-in on an extreme makeover, transitioning from the vaguely rootsy rocker of her 2009 debut
Holy Smoke -- an album recorded with
Ryan Adams' Cardinals in tow -- into a hybrid of
Lorde's artful darkness and
Amy Winehouse's soulful diva.
Wigmore's chops as a singer sometimes puncture the noir atmosphere, meaning
Blood to Bone isn't quite as unsettling as it often intends to be, but the album is made interesting by her pop instincts, which provide shape to "Holding on to Hell," a dark pulse for "DFU," and majesty to "Nothing to No One." Moments like these are the anchor for the slow, churning moodiness of
Blood to Bone, and they're enough to keep it intriguing as an overall record. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine