As SPELLLING, Chrystia Cabral dances the line between straightforward dream pop and aquatic, experimental electronic folk, creating music that both roils the soul and inspires whimsical daydreams. She expanded upon her tactile sound on 2021’s audacious The Turning Wheel, using rich instrumentation to animate her folkloric stories. Working with her touring band on new album SPELLLING & the Mystery School, Cabral reshapes previous album cuts with fresh arrangements, giving them the rhythmic, freeform feel of live versions. Her voice has never sounded better, even as some of the album makes you want to turn back to the delights of her charmingly shambling earlier work.
The edgy new heights of SPELLLING’s panoramic mysticism
The Line of Best Fit
Nevertheless, she describes Portrait as “a creative resurgence” and “a way to bridge the gap” between SPELLLING the artist and Chrystia the person: more forthright, more honest, less cloaked in mystery. The price of a small identity crisis in the process is one she’s come to terms with. Through asking the big questions like “Who am I?” and “What are my relationships?”, she was able to explore romance and intimacy “in new ways” that reflect on and address the changes in herself. She describes feeling “a big sense of relief” from coming to the end, as if the portrait’s completion marked a pivotal moment, a return to self. “There’s Tia and there’s SPELLLING,” she says firmly. “This album is much more personal, it’s much more Tia.”