The new Grammy-nominated album from Los Angeles-based artist Carla Patullo, NOMADICA arrives as a sweeping, emotionally resonant collection shaped by loss and remembrance; the release revisits the sudden loss of Patullo’s mother in a car accident. Across its expansive arrangements, Patullo blends orchestral vibrancy, airy electronic touches, and delicately layered vocals, creating a sense of continual motion that feels both intimate and cinematic in scope.
“Our Love Is” opens the album with haunting atmospheric chills, swelling with intensity from an initial rumbling into a train-like movement as layers of ghostly grandiosity coalesce. Patullo’s ethereal vocal presence emerges thereafter, easing in seamlessly as string-laden illumination and simmering ambient spellbinding take hold alongside. NOMADICA is abundant in captivating soundscapes, and that’s evident right away with “Our Love Is” — continuing then into the album’s gorgeous title track.
“Nomadica” unveils patiently as a pulsating backing presence complements beautiful strings. Patullo’s vocals enter with dreamy allure, continuing to impress in their knack for emotively sating build-ups. The mid-point’s expansion of strings combines with Patullo’s soaring vocal invigoration, breathtaking in their approach to the three-minute turn. I’m reminded fondly of Sigur Rós’ most elegant works, in the track’s infusion of strings and voice, especially.
The remainder of NOMADICA continues to envelop with its range of gripping soundscapes — from the gentle introspection of “Undercurrent” to the haunting vocal harmonies within “Lightning” and concluding “Fly Under,” which features Martha Wainwright and further impressive string arrangements. NOMADICA inspires with its own world of sound, consistently ravishing in its artful textures and arrangements.
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We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
