Shannon Lay doesn’t so much write songs as cast spells. Her third full-length “August” (named for the month in 2017 she chucked her day job to devote herself entirely to music) is a mesmerizing folk-pop record full of solemnly but confidently sung meditations around the general theme of moving forward. In another artist’s hands, that might sound Pollyanna, but Lay — whose acoustic albums in 2016 and ’17 recalled the great singer-poets of the 1960s — possesses a certain comportment to go along with her singular command of both musical and lyrical language. On “August” produced with a light touch by her long time pal Ty Segall, we feel as if we’re overhearing the songwriter’s inner conversations. And it’s not small talk.
We’re pretty sure this album (along with Bedouine’s “Bird Songs of a Killjoy” and Odessa’s “All Things”) is the path to a higher plane.
The Fat Angel Sings 