Not only informed by but seeming dilated by the weight of the out-of-balance power structures and worsening climate change of its time, 2019's
Immanent Fire is the sixth full-length by gothic folk-rock stylist
Emily Jane White. Combining the songwriter's brooding, ominous melodies with high-contrast arrangements by the co-producer/engineer
Anton Patzner (
Pete Yorn,
Demi Lovato), the album ups the ante on the cautionary tone of its more acoustic predecessor,
They Moved in Shadow All Together. First track "Surrender" begins with the sounds of howling winds, folk-style rhythm guitar, and a mournful electric guitar line before
White murmurs "I felt the vines move within/Felt my heart bleed again." A song with direct and symbolic references to death, its tension builds as the volume increases with the addition of piano, buzzing electronics, and the percussive attacks that punctuate the lead guitar's noir-ish atmosphere. The album's themes of death and impending natural disaster continue on tracks with titles like "Drowned," "Washed Away," and "Shroud," which opens with a pounding drum, fuzzy guitar, and ethereal, wordless voices over a recording of steady rain ("And the rain rang loud/With that old familiar sting"). Buoyed not only by persistent elegance but by tempos and rhythms that keep it from sinking deep under the covers, it also offers tracks like "Metamorphosis," whose marching synth rock contains the suggestion of a church organ and choir while lyrics engage with notions of healing and rebirth. With its relentless minor keys haunted by external and internal unrest,
Immanent Fire is an impressively focused and cinematic set from an artist who was already a maven of atmosphere. ~ Marcy Donelson