Crush Me in Bloomington, MN

Crush Me
is
Emily Cross
' return to making music as
Cross Record
, following a series of acclaimed albums by her group
Loma
, released by
Sub Pop
. She has also been busy working full-time as a death doula, hosting a podcast, and relocating from Austin to Dorset, England. The album took several years to create, during which a label expressed interest in releasing it, then became unresponsive, and collaborators similarly became absent following initial recording sessions that didn't result in anything close to a finished work. All of this fed into the album's themes of abandonment and surrender when it was eventually finished, which happened thanks to the urging of
Ba Da Bing
's
Ben Goldberg
.
generally has a raw, intimate sound, with squeaking chairs and gently stinging feedback noises audible. Yet for all its directness, it's also spacious, easily bringing to mind the confessional ambient pop of
Lisa Germano
. While doubt and uncertainty cloud her thoughts, she still remains hopeful, assuring herself "I feel real" during the hazy "Charred Grass." "Dorset Area of Natural Beauty" is a more textural experiment starting out with smeared, unsteady organ and fragmented laughter, eventually settling on a more meditative pace. "Led Through Life" is one of the record's most ethereal moments, but later tracks like "God Fax" and "Designed in Hell" are filled with grinding distortion and sluggish drums, matching the pressure suggested by the album's title. Ultimately,
Cross
sounds at peace, even if it's been hell getting there. ~ Paul Simpson