Shana Cleveland
has found an audience in the indie rock community as the leader of the fine surf-infused band
La Luz
, but before the group took off, she was recording her own variety of idiosyncratic indie folk. Taking a busman's holiday from the group,
Cleveland
has cut a second album of songs fashioned around her acoustic guitar work and evocative melodies (the first,
Oh Man, Cover the Ground
, was recorded in 2011 and released in 2015), and 2019's
Night of the Worm Moon
is a quietly dazzling exercise in moody, expressive acoustic music. The heart of these songs can be found in
's hushed vocals and subtle guitar work, which lend these performances a feeling somewhere between
John Fahey
and early
Leonard Cohen
(think
Songs of Leonard Cohen
, not
I'm Your Man
). Meanwhile, the arrangements, in particular
Will Sprott
's keyboards, fill out the melodies with sounds that conjure a cool, forbidding psychedelic undercurrent that are a splendid complement for
's spectral guitar. This is a far cry from the smart but sunny approach of
, but
's understated vocal delivery and the impressionistic bent of her lyrics are two areas of common ground between these projects. And if
is a very different kettle of fish than
, it's similarly rewarding. This album is superb rainy-day listening, music that's subtle but effectively draws the listener into its web, and
's songs cast a spell that's truly beguiling. At its best,
could pass for some forgotten freak-folk classic of the late '60s or early '70s, though you don't have to follow the trippiness of the past to appreciate its many pleasures. ~ Mark Deming