SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: SPELLLING – PORTRAIT OF MY HEART

SPELLLING
PORTRAIT OF MY HEART
SACRED BONES

For those who are into experimental pop, then you would know that one of the best in that scene right now is SPELLLING, the musical project of Chrystia “Tia” Cabral, who continuously releases exquisite one-of-a-kind music. SPELLLING’s latest release, Portrait Of My Heart, is a creatively bold record that is a must-listen for any music lover.

Chameleon-like is the best way to describe Portrait Of My Heart. These songs go in unexpected places and will always have the listener on their toes. “Satisfaction” is an electrifyingly hardcore headbanger. This song goes in a completely different direction than what one might anticipate. It starts out quite pop-oriented with a sort of whimsical landscape and then eventually goes into some thrash metal and nu-metal territory with some heavy and gnarly instrumentation. Cabral’s vocals are amazing, especially when mixed with the harsh and gritty guitars. It also features an explosively bad-ass guitar solo and a wickedly intense outro that will knock your socks off. Alternatively, “Destiny Arrives” is fascinatingly intricate, easily shifting between time signatures, styles, and key changes.

Portrait Of My Heart is its own unique world. Of course, listeners can pick up on influences, but it always feels highly original. In “Drain”, there are hints of grunge, electronica, and pop, but it is its own thing. “Drain” has the menacingly sludgy guitar riffs and darkly grimy atmosphere of grunge, in particular, reminiscent of some of Alice In Chains and Soundgarden’s stuff, the gorgeous etherealness of electronica, and the catchy hooks of pop. Cabral, though, turns it into something that sounds distinctly like a SPELLLING track. Likewise, “Ammunition” feels like jazz and R&B (the opening piano and Cabral’s vocals) meets hair metal/rock ballads (the guitar solo), but with a SPELLLING twist that makes it stand out and not sound generic.

One of the main standouts from the record is the title track. The opening guitar riff is an earworm, the lyrics are intimate and raw, the chorus is cathartically expressive, the baroque arrangements are stunningly operatic, and Cabral’s vocals are beautiful. It is cinematic, grand, and theatrical. Other highlights include a brilliant cover of My Bloody Valentine’s “Sometimes” and the anthemically crunchy “Alibi”.

Overall, Portrait Of My Heart continues to see SPELLLING delivering uniquely experimental songs with complex structures and intriguing instrumentation.

Artist Links