Acquiesce is Natalie Chami's first
TALsounds release in three years, following a flurry of activity between 2013 and 2017. Improvising music as a form of therapy, she guides glowing, cruising synth tones and channels her anxiety through her impassioned vocals, often not realizing what she's expressing until after it's been said. Lacking the thudding beats of previous
TALsounds releases such as Lifter + Lighter and
Love Sick,
Acquiesce feels even more somnambulant, but it's still driven along by an unexplainable force. Tracks like "Soar" are both soothing and thrilling, giving the appearance of lifting off the ground and floating through the air like a magic carpet rather than sprinting on land. The calmness of "Dynasty" is quickly offset by a rough, surging distortion sequence, and Chami's ethereal vocals end up being shocked and scattered. "No Rise" is a gorgeous splash of unrestrained synth melodies that lap back and forth, joined by vocals closer to breathing exercises than verses. "Instance" is easily the album's eeriest moment, creaking back and forth with jittery pulsations and ghostly vocals. "Muted Decision" is somewhere between a meandering daydream and a tearful apology, and "No Restoring" is similar, but more patient, taking several minutes before its cool, glacial pads are joined by wisping, sorrowful vocals that are looped and dissolved into the ether. ~ Paul Simpson