SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: LISA MOLINARO – BLIND TRUST

LISA MOLINARO
BLIND TRUST
INDEPENDENT

Lisa Molinaro has had a fascinating career in music. Beyond her own writing and performing, she has been part of The National (their touring band), The Decemberists (their touring band), Modest Mouse, and has also been one half of Talkdemonic. She is an accomplished violist and multi-instrumentalist with a classical background and a love for punk, new wave, and alternative rock. She is also a composer for films. With all that work, it is no wonder it has taken her a while to record and release her debut album, Blind Trust. And, as the saying goes, it was well worth the wait. She brings all of that experience and much more to her album.

With Blind Trust, Molinaro is able to explore many different themes, lyrically and musically. It is a very restrained and thoughtful album. Blind Trust is not background music, rather, this is an album that requires your undivided attention. She tackles a great many topics, such as love, loss, self-reflection, spirituality, and questions about life in general. This is a lot to deal with, but she does it with such ease and an array of musical genres.

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A song, such as “The Apparition,” which is a slow, piano-driven song that comes right after the more aggressive (and guitar-driven) “Peach Fuzz.” The two songs should not co-exist on the same album, let alone side by side, but Molinaro makes it work. And she does this throughout the album. “Ever Slow” is much more experimental and layered with interesting (and almost creepy) sounds mixed with her angelic voice. She follows this up with the more straight-ahead indie rock sound in the song “The Ending Never Stops.” Molinaro produced the album and she manages to bring everything together.

Although she has been playing music for a long time and has an impressive CV, Blind Trust is a triumphant debut. This is a strong album from beginning to end. The emotion not only comes from the lyrics but the music as well. She glides from melodic, harmonious songs, to grinding indie rock, to indie pop, and all points in between. Blind Trust is a fantastic album and an impressive debut.

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