Album Of The Week: L’Rain fata morgana

Eight tracks in, the new L’Rain album explodes. Like so much of Taja Cheek’s work thus far, fata morgana is largely a procession of meticulously constructed layers, moods, and vibes. It’s an atmosphere you immerse yourself in, only to find incredible songs materializing in the fog. But on “soulless cycle,” the ephemeral sonic palette gets a lot more tangible.From the instant those guitar stabs start panning from speaker to speaker, you know the track is headed somewhere special. Atop a low-end rumble like gnawing anxiety, Cheek unspools a melody that resembles an incantation. “I am so tired of feeling so tired,” she declares. “I am so sorry for feeling sorry.” She locks into a repeating mantra, “I’m a psycho cycle,” until you’re mesmerized, one of many times on fata morgana when Cheek’s words and music are beautifully intertwined. Then comes the boom: a bombastic drumroll, a torrent of distorted guitar, a swell of otherworldly keyboards — a No Age song breaking out from the miasma, unloading and intensifying for two euphoric minutes before dispersing. It’s a storm blowing through, but one that sweeps the damage away rather than leaving wreckage in its wake.All these things are true...