Dalt’s uniqueness is something that has been manifested with fascination. It is safe to say that each album brings new languages and interpretations to a musical body in constant recognition. Willing to explore sonic terrains, without forgetting the telluric origin, the catalytic energy of her pieces opens cracks and provokes breaches to the very concept of composition as we widely know it. Meticulous in the details and maximalist in the results, the Colombian, once a civil engineer, treats the potentialities of sound and emotions with a high degree of exoticism; always enigmatic in form, but as deeply familiar in soul as she exposes this new world before us.
The six records she has signed in her own name so far are all essential, representing not only a distinct key chapter but – above all – a global reading of a path revealing a rare nobility. In an extensive discography, and even obscure in its initial phase, many are the examples of portraits of an unknown land, still to be mapped. In the area of collaborations, Dalt is equally excellent: with F.S. Blumm she gave us an unforgettable lo-fi trip on Quatro Covers; with 1/3 of Wolf Eyes, Aaron Dilloway, she landed us in a brilliant psychedelic alien dream called Lucy and Aaron; and she even had some charm left over to give herself to the soundtrack of the HBO TV series The Baby. Unpredictable, and yet extra-complementary, angles from an endlessly expanding artist.
The pop futurism, jazzy, or whatever you want to call it, that symbolizes the latest ¡Ay! coats this work of Lucrecia Dalt in velvet. Disconcerting, sensual, and intriguing, the voice appears here (more than ever) as the driving element. Dark landscapes recalling Tom Waits or Lhasa de Sela, which mutate into neo-industrial alchemy, halfway between bolero and the textural expressiveness of machines and pedals. A record of tales, fables, and other hallucinations with no time or geography in sight. In this aspect, it can be considered timeless and always genuinely transgressive. Never has Dalt reached this point of freedom. An absolute detachment that finds simultaneity in a certain revisitation to her cultural roots. Diffuse ideas perhaps, but only and only indicative of a work that is inspired, refreshing, and ultimately difficult to define. It is not for nothing that it won the title of record of the year for the respected Wire magazine, among many other distinctions in renowned publications. A queen who returns to ZDB in a state of grace. A must-see for one of the most awaited concerts of 2023. NA