Alela Diane - Cusp (Album Review)

Sometimes there are albums that really stand out to me that I cannot relate to in the slightest. Some albums have such a profound impact on me but I cannot relate to the contents of the album at all. A spectacular example of this is A Crow Looked at Me by Mount Eerie, perhaps one of the most talked-about albums of 2017 in the world of music review. The entire premise of this album, which can barely be described as music by traditional terms, was the death of Phil Elverum's wife. A hard-hitting topic for sure, but the details that Phil shared were so specific and precise that it almost made me feel as if I were there. I couldn't include the album on my list because I couldn't really classify it as entertainment.

Alela Diane's Cusp produces a similar effect on me, in that I cannot relate to motherhood in the slightest.
To be honest, I stumbled upon this album by pure luck, by simply looking at a new release list and noticing the interesting album cover.
Cusp is notably outside my comfort zone. In terms of lyrical content, especially. I also don't normally listen to anything within the singer-songwriter genre (I would assume that is where this falls), but something about this album really stuck out to me.

I really appreciate the production on this album. It's produced almost like an instrumental interlude on a modern metal album. It's much more direct than most of its counterparts, which are quiet in all the wrong places. I really love all of the piano melodies and doubled over vocal tracks, which really stick out on "Albatross", "Buoyant" and "Ether & Wood".
This album is primarily piano and vocals, both performed by Alela Diane, and thus the sound does become repetitive. If that sort of sound is up your alley, then go for it. If not, you probably shouldn't listen to this album.
I also think that the album starts out a lot stronger than it ends. "Albatross" and "Émigré" are certainly my favorite songs on the album, with the use of strings being impeccable and unique, as compared to the almost country-sounding, straightforward songs that close the album, "Ether & Wood" being a notable example of a slight twang.
I really liked Alela Diane's lyrics. Her use of the English language is pleasant, something I think is essential in this genre of music. Considering how stripped down these tracks are, the lyrics have massive influence when listening to this album (as opposed to something like Anaal Nathrakh, where lyrics are inconsequential).
I would definitely recommend listening to this album because of its relative simplicity and pleasant sound. I'm going to give it a 6.5/10. I hope you all didn't mind the short review of an odd album. I really wish this album had more replay value, but I really feel as if I'm never going to listen to it outside of the couple times I did to review it, and outside of the standout songs mentioned above. Oh well.