Album Review: Carla Dal Forno, Come Around

Though self-assured in her poetic lyricism, Carla dal Forno’s message is hidden throughout Come Around in the silences and shifts – but maybe that was her intention. Either way, this is a collection of haunting songs you feel in the pit of your stomach.

Presenting her most confident lyricism to date, dal Forno explores the stickiness of love and insomnia, home and chaos with a stoic stoniness. She is a grounding confidante on the title track, a love song sourcing magic from a surface-level relationship. Percussive instrumentals clash with her dubbed-out vocals on ‘The Garden Of Earthly Delights,’ building elastic tension with swelling synths. Tracks like ‘Stay Awake’ – also addressing insomnia – and ‘Mind Your On’ function as the comfortable silence before the warped storm of ‘Slumber.’ 

Here, the ominous production suggests a narrative twist that never quite arrives. Instead, the singer drops her armour on ‘Caution’, wearing vulnerability with a hopeful sort of conviction. Like the rest of Come Around, it’s a cocktail of contradictions, luring us into an otherworldly listen.

Listen: ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’
Score: 6/10

Out now via Kallista Records.

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