BY JOHN
BACCIGALUPPI, ZOE
INVIE
On Friday mornings I go to the new releases page on Tidal and wade through the new music released each week. I'll check out records from artists I know, but what I really enjoy is finding new music from an artist I'm not familiar with that resonates with me. On the last day of February 2025, the very last album listed in my new releases feed was Nona Invie's Self-soothing. From the first track, "Forget My Name," I was drawn into the album, and it has been in constant rotation for me since. My friend, John Radin, used the term "agnostic gospel pop" in describing the Brian Eno and David Byrne album, Everything that Happens will Happen Today, and Self-soothing has that same feeling to me. Uplifting and positive, but also a bit introspective and searching. At times it reminds me of "Don't Give Up," the Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel duet on So, but in other places it has an almost Angelo Badalamenti/Twin Peaks vibe going. The consistent thread is Invie's beautiful vocals and harmonies, along with her piano and synth playing. The entire record is great, but the second track "Last of Our Shadow" really stands out. It starts off a bit quiet and sparse in the verse, but the chorus is huge with a beautiful melodic payoff, yet it's not loud or overblown. Not many people can pull off a chorus like this.