Cross Record Cross Record Artist

{|Emily Cross|} began recording her third album as {|Cross Record|} while living in seclusion in Mexico, following her divorce from a former musical collaborator. Among other significant life changes, she also quit drinking and became a death doula, ... Read more

{|Emily Cross|} began recording her third album as {|Cross Record|} while living in seclusion in Mexico, following her divorce from a former musical collaborator. Among other significant life changes, she also quit drinking and became a death doula, assisting people with the dying process -- she's even started performing Living Funeral ceremonies, in order to help the dying prepare for the final stage of life. All of these occurrences inform the composition and sound of {|Cross Record|}'s self-titled album, the artist's most daring effort to date. Starting with the vocal-heavy initial recordings made in Mexico, she fleshed out the songs with musicians and producers {|Theo Karon|} and {|Andrew Hulett|}, as well as additional contributions from producer/multi-instrumentalist {|Ben Babbitt|}, cellist {|Chris Votek|}, violist {|Lauren Baba|}, and drummer {|Beth Goodfellow|}. {|Cross|}' intimate vocals are at the center of the ever-shifting sonic landscape, where conventional acoustic and electric sounds are melded and shaped into an intricately detailed, amorphous drift. While the album starts out slow and hazy, drums start making a greater presence during the rippling The Fly, while Hollow Garden and Y/o Dragon both incorporate jittery, bass-heavy electronic beats. It almost seems necessary to listen to {|Cross Record|} a few times just to process the album's production, then move on to concentrating on the lyrics. Some of them directly address {|Cross|}' life experiences; Face Smashed, Drooling describes her emotional state after she stopped drinking alcohol, while I Release You is a spacious rumination on the end of her relationship. The lyrics of Sing the Song are a sequence of commands, sentiments, and life decisions: build a house, settle down, have a child, throw dreams away. The album purposely seems open-ended, as {|Cross|} has no clue what's in store for her after this point in her life, but her willingness to explore unknown territory is the main reason her music is so captivating. ~ Paul Simpson Less