Haunted Painting

With , may have outgrown the confines of what her solo project was originally designed to do -- and that's a good thing. made most of her debut album 's subversions of mainstream pop in her bedroom and they (proudly) sounded like it. This time, she tops her homemade recordings with additional tracking at studios such as 's former haunt, New Monkey, and with instrumentation that ranges from trash to an eight-piece orchestra. announces 's ambitions from the start with "Into the Catacombs," a fittingly spooky, string-laden introduction that signals just how deep she's going to dig. The album's wider-ranging sound mirrors its broader scope, which spans and blends the political and the personal effortlessly. is flip and serious at the same time on "WTD?" as she takes aim at cavalier billionaires who treat the world as disposable over remnants of 's pop pastiche. Backed by brittle electro-pop that wields distortion like armor, she tears into comedians who think "PC culture" destroys comedy on "Hysterical." However, no one escapes ' scrutiny. On "Oops â?¦ !" -- which sounds like jamming with -- she questions her own need for vengeance, describing herself as a "young hussy crossed with cuddle core/10,000% out for blood." Though her difficulty processing grief led to a bad case of writer's block, 's songwriting is some of her most personal and eloquent. The self-consciousness of her work has grown into self-awareness, whether it's "Ghost (Of a Good Time)"'s breezy kiss-off to late nights out, or "Ruby Wand," which moves from introspective synth pop to grungy catharsis. Mourning is a potent muse for her on "Good Grief," a wry, fond remembrance set to a carousel melody, and "The Crow," which conveys the overwhelming helplessness that follows loss in its self-destructing noise. It feels like the emotional openness of "Take Care"'s blossoming chamber pop wouldn't have been possible without the turmoil that came before it, and while the busy sonics and intricate wordplay of mean there's a lot going on, juggles it all with flair and heart. ~ Heather Phares