Alice Phoebe Lou - Oblivion Review
Alice Phoebe Lou has tapped into her most authentic and gentle work yet. Oblivion finds her stripped-back, intimate and truly blossoming into a new-found radiance.
Singer Songwriter Alice Phoebe Lou opens up about Oblivion being her “Treasure chest of personal storytelling songs” that she’s built over the last decade. The project, so gentle in form and articulate in feeling, falls nothing short of a goldmine of Lou’s personal anecdotes, and odes to since-buried memories. From the soft acoustics of track ‘Sailor’ to the ‘ballroom dance for one’ track ‘Sparkle’, Oblivion pays off as one of Lou’s most intimate, and stripped-back records yet, establishing her new-found radiance, and delicate poeticism.
A standout moment peaks its head out in the track titled ‘Pretender’, one of Oblivion’s lead singles. Lou sings “I’m stronger now that I’m softer too”, a phrase that feels like the spinal cord of the project. Between the playful poetics and hypnotic dreamscapes, Lou finds herself relentlessly letting go, and beautifully practicing her admittance to authenticity. There is strength in the presence of vulnerability, and Oblivion seeks to personify that.
‘Pretender’ continues with “I’m glad I stayed myself, even when I wanted to be someone else”, reflecting the image of an honest, and grown Alice Phoebe Lou. Most of the songs on the album are rung dry of heavy production and are left with simple-cut acoustic landscapes where Lou’s lyricism takes charge. She remarks on multiple occasions the retrospective desire to be invisible, yet all 11 tracks pose as a testament to her standing centerstage with a sparkling confidence. Track ‘Sailor’ opens up the album by enlivening a gentle optimism for any hopeless romantic in earshot. Lou remarks “How did we get it so right? I’m usually a hopeless romantic” alongside her sunkissed hums and lightly plucked guitar strings.
‘Sparkle’ digs its heels into the track sequence as one of the most empowering songs off the project. Over a beautifully simplistic piano chord, Lou softly sings “If you should see me, as I sparkle in the night, don’t be a fool, it’s not for you, it is for the divine”. Anchored by a fragile calm, this track finds a luminous power in charting the journey towards inner growth, leaving those behind who are unworthy of such light. Lou’s velvety cadence couldn’t sound braggadocious even if it tried, and the empowerment is embedded in that notion; Confidence delivered in such satin poise is potent and untouchable.
Another tantalizing piano track, ‘Oblivion’, also took the name of the project itself. A personal favourite, the song is deeply hypnotic in nature, confronting thoughts that are bigger than what Lou is capable of feeling. She sings “When I opened my eyes she was there and her skin was golden”, painting such brilliantly vivid imagery that feels as if it’s personifying a dream. Here, Lou faces nostalgia, memories, and seemingly late characters in her life. Her ominous and reflective verses transform a simple listening experience into what feels like an endless fall into a darkened dream-like state of unconsciousness. It’s one of those irrevocable tracks of Lou’s that hits in such a way you need to keep pressing replay.
After unpacking a few of the album’s heavier emotional threads, Lou leans into a few tracks that feel grounded, and relatable in nature. Cryptic becomes conversational in ‘The Surface’ when Lou complains “I wish my arguments were as good as in my head”. Although not drenched in words that sting, the track still provokes an unguarded and honest listen. The struggle of not feeling seen pulsates in “Was I being obvious? I thought I was see-through”, and the ever-hopeless “If you looked at me closely, you’d see.”
‘Darling’ dances with a simple, glowing sweetness- the kind that only a girl in love could hum along to. Lou’s lyrics imagine meeting a lover at the pearly gates, painting a version of love that is timeless and suspended in a sunlit melody. ‘With or Without’ allows Lou’s instrumentation to blossom with lightly drowning synths and strong chord progression. Her poetics take a backseat here, but this doesn’t falter the tracks' intensive yet harboring nature that enlivens the confidence to take on what’s next; With or without you…
The longest, and arguably most confessional track ‘Old Shadows’ lays the artist's heart out bruised and bare. The song unravels her old wounds from past relations and opens up both the beauty and pain of new, healthy love. Lou finds a way to tenderly place emphasis on the power in strength and vulnerable intimacy, casting a spotlight on one who is blossoming into an able-bodied recipient of nurturing love. “It takes some getting used to” Lou remarks, and how truer could that be in the face of something you’ve always wanted, and never felt you deserved?
Oblivion finds Alice Phoebe Lou, after a lengthy two years, blossoming into her truest self. Her power as a story-telling wordsmith, and a diehard lover shine beautifully in this project. The album is a simple listen, with a heavily-pronounced lullaby-esque structure as opposed to a highly produced and complex work of art. But there’s indeed beauty in simplicity. We hear Alice Phoebe Lou for who she really is, playful poetics and all.