I want to love this album. Gately is a talented artist and producer. The songs honor her mother’s death. The album was released on one of my favorite labels. I have a soft spot for anyone named Katie.
I want to love this album, but I don’t.
This is Gately’s mourning album. We all mourn differently. Some of us fall deep into darkness where no light can shine, some plod forward in a cloak of denial, and most wander somewhere between the two extremes.
Loom falls deep into the darkness where no light can shine. Personally, it’s not how I choose to mourn, but I could get past those differences if the music was amazing.
It’s not.
The production is gorgeous but the songwriting reminds me of monotonous goth albums from the ‘90s. There are moments of madness that conjure Kurt Weill, but as great as those are, they’re outweighed by mediocre songwriting. I can only handle so many dramatic diminished chords and harmonic minor scales before death starts to feel like a caricature.
I want to love this album. I can live with its lack of light but its tired representation of darkness ultimately makes Loom a very dull album.
Released: February 14, 2020