While not a complete departure from her earlier albums' ethereal, psychic folk bearing, singer and songwriter
Johanna Warren embraces grungier textures on parts of her fifth full-length, the self-produced Chaotic Good. It's her debut for Wax Nine and Carpark Records, which also reissued her prior two albums, the relationship-themed Gemini I and Gemini II. With Chaotic Good -- a reference to Dungeons & Dragons -- she plays with the notions of identity and role-playing in an effort to move on. The track list opens with "Rose Potion," a gentle, lilting entry that features a mix of a deft acoustic and electric guitar, melodic bass, and light woodblock among its palette. She soon moves into more assertive territory with the driving rhythms of "Part of It," though it's still somewhat restrained, with an acoustic core. Midway through the album, she fully embraces a darker, grungier tone with "Twisted," a song that confronts a former partner. Following a gradual, low-end-heavy build-up, "Twisted" lets loose with screeching vocals, something never heard from
Warren previously, at least on an album. Even on that song, though, arrangements are efficient and refined in a way that keeps electric guitars and drums on par with arpeggiated piano, as on the snarling, post-punk-injected "Faking America." Elsewhere, tracks such as "Only the Truth," with its tranquil piano and quivery strings, and the even sparer "Hole in the Wall" are devoid of rougher textures, offering soothing sounds if uneasy sentiments. While it's refreshing to hear
Warren push herself here, both vocally and instrumentally (with guests including former sTickLipS bandmates), Chaotic Good's most compelling songs are the more folk-minded ones, since her voice excels in lyrical, pastoral settings. ~ Marcy Donelson