New Zealand singer/songwriter Emily Fairlight follows her self-titled debut with Mother of Gloom, showcasing beautiful unhurried vocals and lush instrumentation that culminates in dreamy atmospheric album that recalling western desert-scapes. The album title is a nod to Martha Wainright’s “Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole” from which the lyric “Mother of Gloom” comes. Fairlight recorded the latest with Doug Walseth of The Cat’s Eye Studio in Austin, TX and features her songs set to accordions, mariachi horns, and other Texan-Mexican inspired sounds. Standout tracks include: the hushed folk song and opening track “Body Below”; the country folk tune “Drag The Night In”; the melancholy drinking song “Water Water”; the eerie tune “The Desert”; the whistling folk tune “Sinking Ship”; the bluesy “Time’s Unfaithful Wife”; the mariachi-touched “The Bed”; and the beautifully somber “Loneliest Race.” Emily Fairlight’s Mother of Gloom is a polished country folk record that doesn’t have a bad track on the album. All-in-all, a beautiful listen! – Written by JFelton
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