Cat Clyde, independent singer and songwriter from Ontario, began releasing music in 2017. The sound of her music is similar to a mixture of folk music and blues, putting her own twist on the both. The release of her eighth album continues the progress of her journey as a newer musician.

Beginning the album with the track “Everywhere I Go” is a solid introduction, opening with the sound of guitar, violin, and tambourine blending with the artist constructing her songs around pieces of life with a large focus on love. “As thoughts of you like April snow / Linger in my heart so deep / That piece of you I always keep” demonstrates Clyde’s lyricism and her use of figurative language within her music, showing her love is never ending. 

“Mystic Light” focuses on the more folk-side of Clyde’s music, while still putting a modern twist on it. The combination of her voice with the sound of the various instruments in the background show off her artistic abilities and her capability of making her songs coherent. The chorus, “Oh Strange delight / Beneath that mystic light / Sunk in the ancient night / Take my hand / Please help me understand” breaks up the structure of the song and adds a sense of whimsy to her music with the inclusion of different energies.

Living up to their titles, “Real Love” and “Send You Love” continue the prominent theme of love. Lyrics such as “Please send my love / Across the ocean long / Let her waves take my song / To that far away shore” repeat the theme, almost too much. The theme recurs in at least four of the ten songs on the album, eventually sounding repetitive and unoriginal. Even the songs not explicitly about love still mention it, making the theme inescapable.

Moving on, “Papa Took My Totems” shifts the focus and energy into something more intense, bringing in harsher guitar and drums while still maintaining her vocals as a focal point. Even with the intensity, the song remains well-paced. The repeating lyric, “Papa took my totems” is performed in a way that is unlike many songs attempting the same kind of notion.

“Not Going Back” and “The Gloom” have the opposite effect, bringing a more somber and slow vibe to the journey, bringing a sense of peace to the listener. Separating the energy between songs helps to break the album from a solid brick of the same sound into something easier and more versatile for listening. “I fell in love with the moon / I laid bare / Beneath her naked stare / Out of the gloom” displays Clyde’s lyrical vulnerability.

The remainder of the album is not noteworthy, sounding irritatingly similar to the rest of the album, but lacking anything to make them original. While listening to the album as a whole, it becomes a struggle to differentiate many of the motives and thoughts behind the songs with the exception of a select few songs. The album would be easier to listen to when mixed into another playlist, but not on its own as a whole despite each song sounding good individually.