LAEL NEALE
The third studio album by Virginia native Lael Neale speaks of recent times and hugely relatable experiences. Shrinking the often-spacious distance between listener and creator, Neale has put forward an album bearing the confusion, isolation, and reconnection she and so many of us experienced courtesy of the global pandemic. Now that period, forever etched into the minds and memories of us all is one that is being released out into the universe. The outward expression of some of Neale’s innermost and introspective moments.
The beginnings of Star Eaters Delight stemmed from Neale’s relocation from Los Angeles to rural Virginia in April 2020 as she returned to the family farm. A move that would undoubtedly play an integral part in the album’s foundation and purpose. Neale explains how impactful the return and transition to a more natural environment were on her and her creative output. “The move provided spaciousness, silence, and time. These things are harder to come by in the city. It also reconnected me to nature, not curated, park nature. Nature is the thread that runs through the whole album. It helped me not get too bogged down by what was happening in the human world. It helped me retain a larger perspective. My hope is that these songs speak more from that broader place.” The album is a distillation of two years of writing and making sense of a chaotic world and for Neale, “It felt like a gift from the universe to be given time and permission to slow down and be near my family. There was also something about the chaos that helped. Making order out of chaos is one of the more gratifying results of creating something”.
Although it isn’t all that long ago since the world turned in on itself where separation and isolation become an everyday reality. Now several years on, there is a sense of hindsight about that time, and on the eve of Star Eaters Delight release, a curio about how Neale feels towards the record now that it can be seen in the light of pre, during, and post-pandemic can be revealed. The perspective Neale takes is one of reconciliation and coming to terms with factors beyond her control. “There was a lot of senselessness happening in the world out there and that motivated me to make my own sense of my own world.” That time will forever be enshrined in Star Eaters Delight but it is one that shares a commonality for all of us as much as it personally does for Neale.
The creativity and artistic exploration encapsulated on the record did not end with Neale’s writing on her family farm but extended into the realms of videography. Principally in the form of the video clip for ‘Faster Than Medicine’. Although inspired by filmmaker Jonas Mekas, Neale is an accomplished director and wanted to centre the clip around the search for the mystical in the mundane. A concept that is hard to accurately describe and even harder to convey visually. But for Neale “Everything I make is infused with the search. There is no middle ground because there is no distinction to me between the search and the creation of the piece.” Dispelling the notion of parallel processes or opposing forces, for Neale it is one and the same, completely inseparable, and simply an outlook that is omnipresent.
It must not be forgotten however that this record did not manifest purely as a solo record but crucially involved Baltimore, Maryland musician Guy Blakeslee. Blakeslee who is an extraordinary musician in his own right helped knit the record together. His intuition and deft touch shine throughout the album as his arrangements and production attest to. Neale glowingly describes his contribution when saying, “What Guy brings goes beyond his musical adeptness. He is an incredible listener and has always approached the music with great sensitivity. While he could play anything, he understands the power of restraint. His intuition guides him and at times it almost seems he has a psychic ability to know the finished version of the song even before we’ve started working on it. He’s the first person I’ve felt I can really trust with the songs.” On the other side of the coin, however, is the unmistakable signature sound of Neale’s beloved Omnichord. Embedded throughout her work, at times it feels like there is a sonic communion between the Omnichord and the psychological states she explores. Begging the question, is it the ideal instrument to bridge the worlds of music and emotion? A resounding yes is an answer as Neale categorically declares, “My Omnichord feels like my soul mate. The church-like drone pulls a different kind of song out of me than the guitar or piano does. The sparkle and tone lift my words and melodies to a more otherworldly, sacred feeling place.”
It was in fact in a church that Musicology last had the pleasure of catching Neale and Blakeslee. St Pancras Old Church, London to be precise. A beautiful venue and so suitably apt for Neale’s angelic vocals and haunting keys. Playing under the crucifix as she and Blakeslee did, emphasizes the point and reinforces the idea that there comes an added ethereal experience to her shows when performing in such spiritual locations. “Spaces, where people have congregated for the purpose of communing with something beyond themselves, are ripe for a more transcendent experience. I love playing in churches. It brings something different out of me and the performance. I find I can step aside from myself more easily and think of the show as less of a showcase and more of an offering.” An important distinction when considering the dichotomy of performing live, the extraversion required to do so, and the humble introspective origins from which her music is conceived.
As Neale honestly states, “The introverted side of writing and recording comes much more naturally to me, but I’ve realized that the biggest reason the performance side doesn’t feel so natural is largely due to fear. It has been one of my biggest challenges to overcome stage fright and nervousness in order to sing in front of people at all. I feel like each of us is given a mission on the planet and it makes sense to me that part of it would come easily and part of it would push you to the edge of your capacity so that there is growth.” This is an important lesson in life that is often hard to learn but occasionally it comes in the form of wisdom and advice as Neale once received from a friend. “I remember one musician, a friend, and a mentor for me, drawing a diagram of how the musical effect of compression works. Compression narrows the difference between the loudest and softest parts of a track so that it's more consistent in level, reducing the dynamic range of sound and bringing the whole thing right into the middle. He said that compression was used in the making of most contemporary music - so that the music fits right into that middle space. He taught me that this was to be avoided at all costs. That the middle is the status quo, it is the sound of mediocrity. That if you’re given a choice between the highest and the lowest, the best and the worst, go strong to either side, but just don’t be caught dead in the middle. With that said, I like compression, but I have always remembered and loved that analogy.”
The technical compression Neale speaks of is echoed in the approach she takes to the broader and deeper facets of life. A measure of tension and release, the spiritual and philosophical connotations of what Neale receives from music in her life and the creative avenue it affords her, extends to the astrological. “Based on the time of my birth, my moon is in Aquarius. I recently learned that people whose moon is in Aquarius have the struggle of their emotions being separated from them in a satellite that orbits far out in the space around them. Emotions aren’t held close by, in their heart, where other people’s are. This resonated strongly with me because writing songs and singing them has always felt as though it’s my only way to figure out how I truly feel about something. The act of writing is like beaming out to that satellite, allowing it to beam back. A song is the result of that connection being made. I wouldn’t know how to feel without music.” It may be fair to say that music has been the one underlying constant in Neale’s life and the prism through which the world is viewed, analysed, and reimagined.
A sentiment mirrored in Star Eaters Delight. A record that is as circular as life itself and one that takes a journey from the innermost core of privacy and self-reflection and follows it through the many unpredictable and chaotic moments life throws up but eventually settles in an acceptable and digestible place. Having traversed the great outer depths of life, the universe, and search for meaning there comes a point where the loop closes, and for Neale as much as the listener, a reconciliation between chaos and order can be achieved.
