If Hostage of the Heart feels as if it is lyrically garnered from the pages of a young woman’s diary, that’s because it is. But more than that, the project is grounded in evolution, personal and sonic. Not only charting the evolution of Luna Day as a musician and songwriter, but of an album that has grown to fruition, over the years, alongside her. There is also the evolution of the song cycle itself, one that follows the protagonist through all emotions and thoughts and feelings, from insecurity to obsession and everything in between, and even for those of us not as young as perhaps the core target audience, the songs’ messages remain relatable. Some feelings are just part of what it is to be human. Most, actually.
But musically, it’s where the album’s real magic happens. If lyrically there is a sharp and precise pen at work, sonically the album is a romantic, cinematic dreamscape, with occasional alternative pop and rock flavours and indie touches to keep the dynamic shape intriguing.
“Adequate, at Best” is a dark, alt-pop opening salvo, a blend of throbbing digital beats and swathes of guitar softened by softer strings and sonics. By the time we get to “Obsessed”, we are slipping into the dreamlands via this dark update on a ’60s chamber-pop sound, the sort of thing that Scott Walker or Jacques Brel would have loved to have written, here rocked up with spiky guitars for a contemporary, alternative audience.
“Shotgun Lovers” explores the distance growing at the heart of a relationship in a spacious, and then explosive, soundscape. “Certified Nobody” is a heartachingly beautiful piano ballad, and the title track plays us out like a modern-day Ralph Vaughan Williams piece.
You can tell that this is an album carefully constructed over time, something allowed to blossom naturally, rather than just a collection of songs. Hostage of the Heart feels more like the soundtrack to a musical not yet written, a hero’s journey for the new age, one where we all identify with the character, all recognise the doubts and obsessions, the anxiety and pull of emotions.
Hostage of the Heart is, at turns, romantic and angst-driven, dramatic and dreamlike, personal and relatable, intimate and explosive, accessible and ornate, and it marks Luna Day out as one to watch. No question.
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