Katie Herzig's follow-up to her mostly acoustic indie folk debut
Watch Them Fall is denser and more electric but maintains the sweet, calm mood that her voice almost demands. The more complex arrangements not only utilize electric guitar, but even clashing sounds, bleeps, feedback-type noises -- really sound effects -- on certain tracks. However,
Weightless still has an acoustic base, or at least a presence, throughout. "Butterfly" is a quiet acoustic guitar piece with fast-moving rhythms and layered harmonies ("I will never change for you") that ends with added subtle percussion and vibraphone sounds. The dreamy waltz "Crazy" begins with simple guitars and collects various electronic effects as it progresses, as do other tracks on the album, if not as symbolically with the song’s subject. The tone is playful, even cute, though also sincere, especially in the vocal delivery. What really defines the album is
Herzig’s skill at writing melody which, when carried by her distinctive soprano, makes for a breezy and hook-charged ride. At 14 tracks, the record rambles a little, despite the fact that a handful of songs clock in at under three minutes. Two-thirds of the way through, it culminates with the dynamically and melodically dramatic title track, in which overdubbed vocals confess, "I am brokenhearted/And you are beautiful/I am undecided/And you are weightless." As it’s her first album after the breakup of her band,
Newcomers Home,
Herzig may still be settling into a sound, but her way with melody and structure leads her quite naturally into the indie pop realm for a sophomore release that satisfies.