Glasser – Interiors

The second album by Cameron Mesirow, aka Glasser, begins with promise – her powerful, emotionally resonant voice is paired with loping proto-dubstep on Shape, showcasing her skills as a songwriter, and setting out the New Age-inspired stall of her producer Van Rivers, who has previously worked with the likes of Fever Ray.

As the album progresses, the multi-tracked vocal layers remain Interiors' most appealing aspect, but one cannot help but feel that post-Grimes, Mesirow's approach is sometimes rooted a little too much in conventional song structures; almost as if she is afraid to let the more experimental elements lead the charge. As a result, the likes of Design and Landscape are somewhat underwhelming, although pleasant enough. The echoing, birdsong-inflected electronica of Dissect lifts things, with some astonishing melodic progressions from Mesirow, but the lasting impression is of an artist who needs to push further to escape her more twee, prosaic lyrics and arrangements. [Bram E. Gieben]