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Reviews

Paulina Fae — Ghostbirds
(Projekt No #, 2025, DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2025-05-23

Ghostbirds Cover art

Wasn’t that long ago we could count on a new release from Paulina Fae every year, but since 2022’s Glow, she hasn’t released anything new until Ghostbirds in March of 2025. It’s worth noting that all of her earlier recordings released as Paulina Cassidy (her real name) and as Polly Fae (2019-2021) have all since been re-released as Paulina Fae. As before, on the album’s ten tracks she sings and plays all the instrumentation (piano, organ, synthesizers, acoustic guitar, atmospherics) though this time out the soulful whispered voices and dreamy atmospheres are certainly more introspective, perhaps aligning better with dreampop or darkwave, moving into areas that her art, drawings, and paintings might better illustrate if converted directly into musical ideas. Her vocals on most of the cuts are akin to space whispers, often multiplied and layered, the instrumentation that backs the melodies is more of a slow moving skeletal backdrop that follows the voice into whatever cavernous chasms it might lead the listener. The effect is haunting and beautiful, the lyrics shrouded in a misty cloud, barely understandable on a casual listen, her voice is often more hypnotic on its own than whatever lyrics are being conveyed. A listener might well find themselves drifting along with her singing, floating through walls, wandering down ancient paths in dark forests only occasionally lit up by sprites of melted moonlight. “In the Garden of Neptune” stands as one of the album’s most engaging cuts, and even though the backing track is fairly simple, the vocals, melody, and changes throughout the piece are what make it so mesmerizing. Similarly, its follow-on “Sparrow Clouds” has a similar effect on a listener. With “Under Moonlight Vines” a simple repeating instrumental phrase creates a formidable backing for her voice, while the looping undercurrent on “Dreaming with the Bees” conveys a forlorn feeling of sadness. While it may seem too dark and introspective for some listeners, Ghostbirds marks a welcome return for Paulina Fae. Be sure and check out the “Emporium” page on her website (link below) for a sampling of Paulina’s fine art, which in turn inspires her music. Note that each of the songs on the album have a corresponding video, which can be viewed at the youtube link below.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): Polly Fae / Paulina Cassidy

More info
http://www.paulinafae.com
http://projektrecords.bandcamp.com/album/ghostbirds
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJdzJrgRvl5J4ADJxD1tak85_LYuBhoac

 

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