Review Summary: However you’d like to classify Aspirin Sun, it’s a damn good record
Aspirin Sun, besides being Emma Tricca’s fifth full-length, is a lot of things. It operates in the ambiguous spaces between folk, psych, and dream pop, while incorporating plenty of other influences, partly derived from the singer-songwriter’s life story, ranging from her childhood in Italy to her current residence in London. It serves as a meditation on the passing of Tricca’s father, which occurred since the release of her previous album, while proving too cryptic and all-encompassing to be defined as a record “about” even such a personally seismic event. It’s an album which feels contemporary enough to draw comparisons to various artists operating today (a la Anna Mieke or Grouper’s dreamier output), while also maintaining a classic feel, as at least some of these songs wouldn’t feel out of place being pumped from some sun-washed scene in a 1973 movie.
This is an album which reliably takes its time - besides the gentle opener “Devotion” (which serves most practically as an introduction to Tricca’s expressive vocals) and the mellow “King Blixa” (which serves a similar purpose for the record’s second half), the other six songs here all meander along, ranging from five to eleven minutes in length. Whether a given tune leans more towards the comforting or the moody is all over the map - “Autumn’s Fiery Tongue”, for example, feels quite sinister, mastering that patented neofolk sensation of harnessing a sense of menace and power despite notable musical restraint, while “Through A Poet’s Eyes” presents almost-Celtic pastoral vibes before prominent drumming brings the song to a more dramatic conclusion. Meanwhile, the two shining masterpieces which greatly distinguish
Aspirin Sun achieve their success in quite different ways - “Leaves”, which anchors the record’s first half, is a quiet and melancholy journey through folk-meets-slowcore realms, while the album’s ultimate track, “Space And Time” sees Tricca’s repetitive vocal work backed by aggressive Latin-style trumpet, cultivating a hypnotic swirling effect. Both are utterly captivating.
The biggest problem with this record, then, is simply that most of Tricca’s suave compositions don’t quite achieve the transcendent results which both “Leaves” and “Space And Time” manage to reach. Nevertheless, there’s a lot to love throughout. As far as contemplative, comparatively low-energy releases go, this is one of the finest in years, carefully-crafted and delicate but full of nuance and color. However you’d like to classify
Aspirin Sun, it’s a damn good record.
