Hifalutin

On their ambitious debut album, Heba, Lowly hinted that their music didn't live up -- or rather, down -- to their name. They confirm these suspicions on Hifalutin, a follow-up that's as big a leap from Heba as that album was from the band's early EPs. Several of the album's songs were written for a concert Lowly performed at Copenhagen's Brønshøj Water Tower, a venue with so much reverb that the band had to streamline their approach. They also recorded Hifalutin in a 150-square-meter warehouse, a setting that added an expansiveness that allows Lowly's moods and sounds to reach their full trajectories. The album begins with one of its most widescreen moments: "Go for a Walk" provides a dramatic entrance into Hifalutin, with sweeping harp, strings, and synths that sound like an invitation to take a stroll to another world; when Soffie Viemose switches from her throaty alto to upper register, it only makes the track more astonishing. Fortunately, Lowly haven't sacrificed any of their music's warmth for moments of wonder like this. If anything, they're even more skilled at showcasing the intimacy within their ever-expanding songs. On "In the Hearts," they unite fragments of everyday life and shards of electro-pop into a poignant portrait of universal emotional connections, while "Baglaens" cocoons Nanna Schannong's fragile vocals with glassy layers of synths and guitar. Though Hifalutin presents a more cohesive version of Lowly's music, it's far from predictable -- this band is too restless to settle into just one style or emotion for the course of an entire album. "Staples," which gives a shiny synth pop gloss to the indie pop Lowly pursued early on, is a welcome reminder that they haven't put aside their flair for melodies as they expand their scope. Likewise, "12:36" harks back to Heba's contemplative yet catchy songwriting. Elsewhere, the band stakes out new territory that ranges from the piano balladry of "Delicate Delegates" to the spoken-word interlude "ii." The only way that Lowly lives up to their name is their humility to push themselves to give more to their listeners -- something they do exceptionally well on Hifalutin.