Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore - Tragic Magic (2026)
I can tell exactly what this record is trying to do, and it does it competently. The blend of harp and voice is tasteful, controlled, and never awkward, but it also never takes a risk that might disturb the surface. Everything stays suspended in the same gentle emotional register, which makes the album feel more like a continuous state than a sequence of ideas. After a few tracks, I stop listening forward and start listening around it.
There’s craft here, but very little pressure. The music doesn’t push, doesn’t arrive anywhere, and doesn’t demand attention beyond its own prettiness. I don’t feel bored, but I also don’t feel pulled back once the texture has been absorbed. It works as a calm, well-made ambient record, yet it lacks the scale, arc, or tension that would give it real weight. Pleasant, restrained, and ultimately non-essential.
Genre: Ambient
Country: US
Final Verdict: 58% (Forgettable Album)
Yearly Ranking: 42th / 46
Highlight: Perpetual Adoration
Made me think of:
Sarah Davachi
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
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