Lydia Ainsworth: "Hologram"

The tale goes that Canadian singer-songwriter Lydia Ainsworth was making music in secret for years—a student of film scoring—prior to sharing her work in earnest. The songs included on Ainsworth’s upcoming debut, Right From Real, put her adoration of Kate Bush through the avant-pop kaleidoscope that has come to characterize her label, Arbutus. It’s not hard to see Ainsworth’s music appealing to Bat for Lashes fans, but the intriacies are distinct—patiently-churned piano runs collide with shadowy beats, and there’s power in her lyrical phrasings. “Into the Garden, I’ll find my center,” Ainsworth sings, a calm invocation, before answering her own call in a hurried breathe: “I found peace in dreaming of you and all the things we’ll never do.” One illusion is followed by another. Ainsworth explores the very specific feeling of emotional uncertainty, where grey realities and personal fantasies collide, where things do not have to be what they seem.

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