The music of Maria Somerville is wonderfully suited to the 4AD legacy. The tunes are expressive, layered, and ethereal in the manner of the output of past pioneers like Swallow, Cocteau Twins, and others. Still, for all that feels so very old fashioned here, Somerville has firmly staked a claim to a large portion of the territory of 21st century dream pop. Luster, her new record, is so perfectly realized that fans of this kind of thing will be a bit stunned.
The selections on Luster collectively echo the best of this label's past. But still, there's some variety in approach here. "Projections" lumbers forward on thick bass-lines, Maria's voice as light as air, while "Violet" finds the vocals further up in the mix, with a plucked keyboard adding flavor to the post-rock. On numbers like that one, or the beat-anchored "Spring", a listener may make comparisons to Stereolab and Broadcast, or even select compositions from MBV and Ride. And while those would be fair comparisons to make, Somerville's art is one which is dream-y, yes, but robust and weighty in terms of instrumentation choices, and overall melodic design.
At her best, like on the sublime "Halo", Maria Somervile seems to be plugging into the exact same vibe that powered things like The Moon and the Melodies and It'll End in Tears. There's depth in the song's overall presentation, such that Maria's voice seems to be coming in from the edge of a great void, kind of like how Liz Fraser's did on "Song to the Siren", that Tim Buckley cover on the first This Mortal Coil. And in a similar fashion, Somerville uses an expert mix to convey shades of light and dark here. "Halo" and the more intimate closer "October Moon" are just stunning in terms of sonics, and the use of production elements and vocals to achieve a kind of effect.
For devotees of 4AD, there's a heady rush of sorts happening when Luster plays. It's so redolent of those earlier classic sides, that one is amazed that that kind of magic could be replicated in 2025. That said, Maria Somerville adds enough to this form to make this material uniquely her own, while absolutely satisfying an itch many music fans had for another record just like those that propelled our dreams so long ago. Luster is just such a record, and quite simply a masterpiece of dream pop as we define it today.
Luster by Maria Somerville is to be released on April 25 via 4AD.
[Photo: Daniel Swan]