Meditation for Wildflowers is the third studio album from dream-pop artist Arily Michele, blending ethereal production, gothic storytelling, and her classically trained coloratura soprano across an hour-long conceptual journey. Inspired by Rocky Mountain landscapes and wildflowers’ renewal after forest fires, the album pairs hypnotic, dreamlike arrangements with reflections on resilience, environmental destruction, and the search for tranquility.
Opening track “alpenglow” quickly showcases a capacity for hypnotic, dreamy enthrallment, weaving glistening keys and gentle rhythms in a way that reminds fondly of Beach House. A dream-pop glow emanates into initially wordless harmonic chills, leading into Arily Michele’s “as I draw in a breath” contemplative lyricism. Jangling guitar elements and serene keys continue to intermingle as her delivery attains a soaring allure, emitting a quivering, operatic-like harmonious spine-tingling into the final minute; the track is a clinic in performance ability and atmospheric production.
Highlights continue to be abundant throughout the release. “silver dollar” begins with a more guitar-forward presence, met seamlessly by sporadic twinkling of bells. “They tried to protect her from the wicked ways of the world,” her lead presence shines throughout, tracing a loss of innocence from sheltered living to exposure to a world of tumult — where one is “still chasing after” a sense of tranquility. Also impressing is “palo santo,” with its vibrant guitar shimmers and “that’s how we roll in sky-high Colorado” delivery, and the gorgeously overlapping backing harmonic layers on striking finale “waning gibbous.” Meditation for Wildflowers is a dreamy full-length achievement from Arily Michele.
