Sparkles & debris

"Ainsworth spent her first two records beefing up her gorgeously swirling take on baroque dance pop, adding levels of lushness to 2017's Darling of the Afterglow before stripping it all back on 2019's Phantom Forest without losing any of the drama that defines her craft. But across the 11 tracks and 34 minutes that make up her latest, Ainsworth seems completely lost at times ... As the second half of Sparkles & Debris begins to unravel, Ainsworth's tracks begin to sound more relaxed, less forced and much more authentic ... The unvarnished "Queen of Darkness" shows Ainsworth breaking her phrasings into sharper bites, creating a more urgent sound than anything else found across the LP, while "All I Am" is a ambient piece that displays just how well she's able to embrace new age and folktronica ... Throughout Sparkles & Debris, Lydia Ainsworth clearly attempts to move her craft forward. And although she howls on the title track, "I've got nothing to prove," the tracks that fail to connect with the listener tell a completely different story".

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"Although intriguing within themselves, these songs don't always work alongside each other. The sparse and shadowy Chic cover "Good Times" feels confusing following an art rock song like "Halo of Fire," and Ainsworth's more Celtic, voice-led melodies in the second half of the album are a difficult transition from the smooth, rhythmic '90s pop sound of the first half. Sparkles & Debris is Ainsworth's most enthusiastically genre-bending album to date, and it's as occasionally fractured as that distinction would suggest. But Ainsworth's distinct, gossamer voice welds it together: Regardless of production style, she is always at the front, weaving, tying down airy vocal runs with low whispers, pushing things to feel softer and more rare".