“A Little Touch of Schleicher in the Night” is Brooklyn singer/songwriter Katie von Schleicher’s first full-length album since 2020, and it’s punctuated, psychedelic and beautiful at every turn. Her melancholic, angelic singing is just as spectral as ever here, though a song like “Every Step Is an Ocean” breaks her out of her comfort zone a bit—as she conjures avant-pop and electronica in confident and sublime ways. Elsewhere, von Schleicher delivers piercing ballads (“Texas” and “Jeanine”) and collaborates with Lady Lamb to make groovy, folk-inspired bliss (“Elixir”).
“A Little Touch of Schleicher in the Night” is magnetic and unavoidable, boasting the bravado of a musician at an immaculate apex. Album standout “Overjoyed” is one of the best songs von Schleicher has ever written, as it soars on a delightful, buoyant instrumentation that flirts with the gray area between twang-pop and Laurel Canyon folk rock.
Produced by Katie von Schleicher and Sam Griffin Owens (Sam Evian) – “A Little Touch of Schleicher in the Night” was recorded with a bunch of poker buddies the two accumulated during the pandemic. Lyrically wry and classically lush with strings and horns, it’s a songwriter album that nuzzles up to the Arthur Russell and Kirsty MacColl LPs in one’s record collection. In narrowing the gap between her personality and her songwriting, von Schleicher has made her most untroubled album.
“A Little Touch of Schleicher in the Night”, out October 20th on Sipsman.
The Fat Angel Sings 