This is the project of Jenny Gillespie Mason. Making music as Sis, Mason indulges us with takes on vaguely Eastern-influenced material. There's a throwback appeal here, and a vaguely hippy-ish vibe throughout. That warning out of the way I can say that there's enough here that Vibhuti is moderately compelling.
While numbers like "Splendor" evoke unfavorable comparisons to anything vaguely Eastern in alt-rock in the Nineties -- those tablas are right out of a Kula Shaker record -- there's some stuff here that suggests Mason's got a good ear, and is adept at wringing meaning out of this act of dressing up. "Bow to Your Wilderness" does indeed charm in the fashion of Weyes Blood so the press materials weren't pulling my leg there. The lugubriously titled "Pregnant in Bhutan" isn't as bad as you might guess. The electronic textures here pop like solo Bill Nelson records from an earlier decade, even as "Rose Gold Shoes" maintains an easy melodicism that suggests that if Mason, or Sis, didn't try so hard to affect an image, her material might be even more enjoyable.
I've got a low tolerance for play acting in music, especially when there are so many talented musicians of Indian and Southeast Asian origin. However, I've also got a high tolerance for music that attempts to convey something spiritual and while lots of Vibhuti doesn't feel genuine, it's at least partially pretty. Jettisoning the press bio, and approaching this album fresh yields the best results. In that case, Jenny Gillespie Mason's voice and simple keyboard figures should charm a bit.
Vibhuti by Sis is out now.
[Photo: Andrew Paynter]