It’s difficult to think of another album that’s left such a mark on music in 2024 than “Ramona“. After hitting play, the feelings are instant: awe at Grace Cummings’ powerful, dramatic voice, storytelling, vocal abilities, songs, and talent. This is an artist who keeps growing and crafts music that feels like it is not from this world. “Ramona” is timeless, classic, poignant, and moving. “Ramona“ is a work of raw truth rendered in its most beautiful form. In a departure from the self-produced approach of her 2019 debut “ Refuge Cove” and its 2022 follow-up “Storm Queen” – the artist worked with producer Jonathan Wilson (Angel Olsen, Father John Misty, Margo Price) and dreamed up a lavishly orchestrated sound that fully accommodates the depth and scope of her vocal prowess. With its visceral reflection on grief and self-destruction and emotional violence, “Ramona“ brings a stunning new grandeur to Cummings’ music while refusing to soften or temper its humanity.
On “Ramona”, this Melbourne Australia-based singer songwriter artist embraces lush, striking orchestral arrangements, raw, bluesy songs of heartbreak and reflection, and moments of delicacy. A deeply personal record for Cummings, perhaps what’s so surprising about it is the universality within the songs. It’s a masterwork.
The Fat Angel Sings 