Soft Focus Futures
Acronym, 2021
8/10
A Canadian singer-songwriter who is much adored in her home country, Megan Nash’s sophomore album shows the artist spreading her wings into broader areas that truly illustrate the many facets of her timeless talents.
“Table For One” starts the album with warm acoustic guitar and Nash’s mesmerizing and inviting vocals guiding the bare beauty that’s quite poetic, and “Artifact” follows with much radiance entering the dreamy climate that often points toward the ‘80s.
Deeper into the listen, “My Own Heart” is full of heartfelt singing and cautious instrumentation, while “Coffee” showcases a larger drumming presence amid the playful guitar work that flirts with the blues. “Chew Quietly/Clean Slate”, one of the album’s best, then showcases Nash’s diverse range as intimacy and ruggedness meet at a very sincere intersection of prairie-rock greatness.
“Are We Still In Love” lands near the end and recruits soulful horns for the gentle, reflective mood and the same song that started the listen also ends it, but this time it’s the reprise version with Digawolf, where a harmonic and glorious finish puts a firm exclamation point on the well thought out record.
A record that truly bares her soul, Nash has clearly been through much self-examination, and she balances profound intimacy with fuller moments of synth and alt-rock flavor that makes for a very alluring post-divorce listen.
Travels well with: Mo Kenney- Covers; Mariel Buckley- Driving In The Dark