As promising as Lowly's 2015 debut EP Sink Way into Me was, it doesn't prepare listeners for the leap the band makes on its first full-length. Heba is equal parts art and heart, full of experimental pop that makes the most of Lowly's technical skill and emotional pull. The bandmembers met while studying at the Royal Music Academy in Aarhus, Denmark, and they use their formal training to give scope and shape to Heba's ambitions. Working with co-producer Anders Boll, they craft songs with elegant, impressionistic arrangements that borrow from dream pop, electronic, and indie R&B in ways that are intriguingly hard to place; even "Pommerate," which is the closest Lowly come to Sink Way into Me's indie pop, has a newfound suppleness and sheen. Meanwhile, "Mornings"'s gleaming guitars and vocals evoke the Cocteau Twins, even though the wobbling bass and rapid-fire drums point in entirely different directions. It's as if Lowly are so full of ideas that they're unable -- or at least unwilling -- to stick to just one idea per song, and the results are much more interesting than if they had. "Still Life" builds from sweet, simple verses to a literally operatic scale when soprano Anna Maria Wierød's vocalizing adds an element of avant-garde luxury that takes the song to another level. Here and throughout Heba, Lowly manage to be ethereal and kinetic at the same time, and on songs like the briskly introspective "Prepare the Lake," the moving parts in their songs are just as transporting as a more typical wash of sound. Of course, all this prowess would be meaningless if there weren't relatable emotions at the core of Lowly's music. "Word"'s wounded pop is a highlight, as are the stunning "No Hands" and "Deer Eyes," where Nanna Schannong and Soffie Viemose's voices make the songs' shifts between hope and loss that much more powerful. An accomplished, moving debut, Heba's bittersweet sensuality is distinctive and unforgettable.
© Heather Phares /TiVo