This is the 6th studio LP from San Diego, California singer/songwriter & producer Salami Rose Joe Louis. Coming up almost a decade ago off her full-length debut Son of a Sauce!, the subsequent sophomore effort Zlaty Sauce Nephew caught the attention of Flying Lotus & he wound up signing her to Brainfeeder Records distributed by Ninja Tune. Her debut for the label Zdenka 2080 would become the most revered entry of her entire catalog, coming off Chapters of Zdenka & Akousmatikous to invite us all on a personal exploration of her own through Lorings.

“Inside” begins with a 2nd single fusing elements of neo-psychedelia, art pop, indietronica & space ambient singing about being lost inside this person’s love whereas “Motorway” finds Flanafi bringing in a guitar & some percussion to express hope of those roaming the unfamiliar streets having mercy on her. “That Must Be Hard for You” sticks out to me as a least favorite of mine & it has to do with the repetition than the subject matter until the 5th & final single “A Sauna Sized Pill” sings about Michael Caine hiding under a rock in plain sight.

Meanwhile on “I Dunno Ways”, we have Lindsay spending 72 seconds repeatedly singing about her being unable to play the game because she doesn’t know the way while the minimalistic “I’ll Never Say” finds herself refusing to show this person what’s really deep inside of her mind. “Crow, Friendship” sings about carrying a loaf of rye on here trying to befriend a group of birds she regularly sees outside of her apartment leading into “Hobbies” opening up regarding her stepfather telling her to find a pastime, which I’d have to assume is music.

“Basketball” ends the 1st half with this 2 & a half minute composition that feels bittersweet just before the lead single “Arm Fell Asleep” blends neo-psychedelia, art pop, indietronica & ambient pop sings about an experience she had when going boat sailing. The 4th single “Fill the Void” kinda reminds me of Toro y Moi in a way explaining that she likes to ride on faith until “Upstairs” relies itself upon its dreamy instrumentation.

One of my favorite tracks would be “Wet Log” simply because of the raw emotion packed into only a minute & a half while “Dribs & Drags” sings about getting up off the ground & wanting to see the person she’s addressing being content with life. After the melancholic “A Pool to Cry In”, the final song “Farewell” preceding the “ Fill the void // house by the lake // coda” outro ties up all loose ends confessing that she wants to start a family in addition to making her family proud & wanting her partner to be more stable.

Compared to Zdenka 2080 & Akousmatikous, I’m a bit disappointed to say Lorings could be the weakest opus of the 3 she’s dropped since signing to Brainfeeder since I’d rank it above it’s predecessor & place Zdenka 2080 above it. I have no issue with the vulnerably introspective approach to indietronica, neo-psychedelia, art pop, ambient pop, bedroom pop & glitch pop carving out her personality over the course of 43 minutes. That said: There are a handful of moments where it feels like I’m listening to half baked demos due to the amount of ideas that sound incomplete.

Score: 3/5

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