The first thing you notice about Grace Cummings is her voice. It's a mercurial sound of almost unnatural power that tips into ragged glory at the slightest nudge. It's the kind of instrument that a less tasteful artist would exploit by keeping it on 11 at all times. Fortunately, Cummings is at her core a folksinger and her dynamics are built around the gentle strumming of an acoustic guitar. After a rather quick ascent through Melbourne's indie underground in 2018, the Australian made her debut a year later with the austere Refuge Cove on King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's Flightless Records. Vocals aside, the record was filled with quality songwriting and an organic charm reminiscent of the early-'60s folk revival, albeit darker in tone. Her follow-up, Storm Queen, employs more or less the same approach, but with a slightly expanded palette that includes piano, strings, electric guitar, and the occasional saxophone burst that rises up like her vocal twin. Now signed to ATO Records, Cummings builds on her catalog with 11 new tracks that balance between poignant observations and nervy catharsis. Raw passion and rattling strings introduce the set on the powerful "Heaven" with its biting "Ave Maria" refrain and slowly building crescendo. The lovely piano ballad "Dreams" extends Cummings' range and offers a nice tonal break with its soaring string section. "Freak" is another track that builds to a satisfying summit, tossing in a weeping country fiddle solo and a choir for good measure as it celebrates the outsider's merit. A few tracks later, the similarly dressed "Raglan" feels like its sister song and it's a vibe that suits Cummings quite well. While the richer instrumentation adds some welcome flair to what is still essentially a voice-and-guitar album, the songs themselves feel a little more scattered and searching than on her debut. Perhaps it's simply the growing pains that follow a much-hyped introduction, but Storm Queen is more of an interesting record than an excellent one, though it still has enough high points to recommend it.
© Timothy Monger /TiVo