Canadian singer/producer
Lydia Ainsworth's 2014 debut
Right from Real opened with "Candle," a dark and jumpy web of interlocking cello, rumbling percussion, and wispy vocals that melted into glitchy, chopped samples. It was pop, in a sense, but the melodic elements were outshined by the overpowering experimental approach. Her 2017 effort
Darling of the Afterglow retained the dark eeriness of the first album but grew more direct in its arrangements and production. With third album
Phantom Forest,
Ainsworth takes huge leaps towards pop where the first two albums took sheepish, tiny steps. This is apparent from the first seconds of "Diamonds Calling Diamonds," the '80s-styled synth pop number that opens
Phantom Forest.
Ainsworth's vocals are still distant and otherworldly, but the tones of the song reference classic dance music sounds. The influence of
Kate Bush has been present in much of
Ainsworth's sounds, but here we also hear nods to
Art of Noise,
Madonna, and the intersection of underground house production and charting pop music that happened for a small window in the late '80s. "Can You Find Her Place" takes this style even further, with a funky bass line and bubbly synth melodies sounding more like a throwback
Jimmy Jam &
Terry Lewis production than anything released in the streaming age. The difference between
Ainsworth's hooky synth pop on
Phantom Forest and the haunted experimental sounds she started with is drastic. Even though the album's nine songs only span a half-hour running time, some moments still feel awkward and misplaced. The minimal, sultry "Give It Back to You" is followed by "Floating Dream," a song that stands out for its glaring rock trappings. Bright acoustic guitars and live drums sound strange after so much time spent in the synthetic dreamworld that makes up the rest of the album. While the songs on
Phantom Forest are
Ainsworth's clearest and most instantly accessible, the album is her least adventurous in terms of production and songwriting. Those put off by the dense layers of earlier songs will be excited by the more straightforward approach, one that distances
Ainsworth dramatically from the first phases of her evolution as her output grows more easily digestible.