Hysteria

Hysteria

“I am alone, but I’m not lonely,” sings Indigo Sparke on her second album, written during lockdown in her home country of Australia after a stint in New York. That self-possessed air is characteristic of Hysteria, which documents the singer-songwriter coming to terms with simmering personal drama. In fact, many of these songs play like sensitive exorcisms of anxiety and other woes. Observe the rousing titular refrain coming to a head on “Pressure in My Chest.” Working with producer/multi-instrumentalist Aaron Dessner (The National, Taylor Swift), guitarist Shahzad Ismaily (Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog), and drummer Matt Barrick (The Walkmen) upon her return to New York, Sparke instills these songs with intimacy and warmth. That’s there in the lightly brushed drums and dusky keyboards of “Pluto,” as well as during the more upbeat folk pop of the title track. Whatever the tempo, Sparke’s voice flutters with refreshing lightness before gathering strength for another well-earned catharsis.

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