The Mysterious Sounds Of Lydia Ainsworth's "Darling Of The Afterglow" Are Refreshing

Indie rock has a very unique sound to it that lots of artists tend to stick around. Lydia Ainsworth is not one of those followers. Her music has a darker, vaguely more poppier sound to it that gives it an ethereal but urgent presence. The mysterious sounds of Lydia Ainsworth's Darling Of The Afterglow are refreshing, but do tend to not develop themselves.

The album starts off ominously and confidently with the piano chords and bells of 'The Road.' The seemingly endless electronic harmonies that back Ainsworth's vocals really give the song an almost evil presence. The vocals and harmonies really make this song shine, its instrumental slow moving and dramatic all the same. The poppier turn comes almost immediately with 'What Is It?' and 'Ricochet.'

Much of the rest of the album doesn't really have much else noteworthy to it. There's no bad song, but there's none as grand as 'The Road' set the album up to be. There's not really any point in any song that hits a special high that really elevates the record to a shocking note that sets it apart from anything else. Songs like 'Wicked Game' have a very mysterious and haunting atmosphere to them, but sound a bit undeveloped, like more can be done.

On top of a lack of development, there's also a few mishaps that made the difference. There's one weird utterance of the word "storm" in 'Ricochet' that sounds really out of place and makes everything stand out a bit awkwardly for every moment following it. 'I Can Feel It All' has a lot of potential as a strong pop rock track with its big vocals and synths, but if the drums were mixed just a bit higher, this track could've been a real monster. The track 'Open Doors' has a dark and creepy intro that sounds really awesome, but turns into a much more optimistic song abruptly. It could've been much better off as two separate songs, as the quick shift doesn't work well.

Lydia Ainsworth's Darling Of The Afterglow has a refreshingly mysterious sound, but fails to really develop many of its tracks. The ideas are all laid out, but some are either not strong enough or just not brought out enough.

Favorite Track: The Road

Least Favorite Track: Open Doors

Rating: 68 / 100

Buy or listen to Darling Of The Afterglow here: