Short Reviews [Nerissa Schwarz - 2022 - "New Eyes for Laika"]

With the band Frequency Drift, experimental harpist Nerissa Schwartz released eight albums, and this is her second solo work, following on from 2016’s ‘Playgrounds Lost’. That album was completely solo but this one finds her reunited with Andrea Hack from that band who provides additional keyboards while Nerissa plays electric harp, keyboards, and synthesisers. The result is something which is progressive, ambient, modern classical and so much more as it uses multiple layers alongside space to create something which in some ways feels almost robotic and analytical, which makes total sense when one realises this was inspired by the ambivalent theme of self-aware artificial intelligence. It is interesting to listen to music that has been composed by someone who is primarily a harpist, as they have a quite different approach to a musical score than a guitarist or keyboard player, and consequently the musical boundaries are quite different. Nerissa structures her music in a quite different way, even when she is playing keyboards, so one never knows quite which direction is going to be taken next, just that the journey is enjoyable, and one just needs to settle back and enjoy it. The harp is right at home in this context, and never seems out of place, although it is not an instrument commonly used in this type of music, and Nerissa ensures the keyboards being utilized always fit together with it in a way that means it is never struggling but instead is always at the centre of attention. This is music to be listened to when there is the time to do just that, preferably on headphones when there is no likelihood of being disturbed. It is then that this is progressive, ambient modernist yet retro album really comes to life.