Self-Released
Married in Mount Airy has been a long time coming; it’s the Canadian singer-songwriter’s first album since 2018’s Heart Shaped Bed, a morose, sorrowful affair, at times disturbing but undoubtedly powerful. MIMA continues in a similar vein, full of songs of twisted, forbidden love, all delivered through Dollanganger’s unique, angelic voice.
The record is a haunting affair, straight from the eerie, off-key opening of the album’s title track and opener. The single ‘Gold Satin Dreamer’ follows, a brilliant, evocative effort, full of distorted, off-kilter sounds, its echoing keys and reverbing guitars creating a cinematic quality, while Dollanganger conjures some vivid, dark imagery, singing “I can smell the blood purged from raw steak”. Dollanganger frequently explores her senses throughout the record, her lyrics as poetic and powerful as ever.
‘Dogwood’ is the album’s highlight, a heart-wrenching song where the narrator converses with god, begging them to spare their drug-addicted partner; Dollanganger’s voice superbly conveys the narrator’s pain and desperation. The single ‘Runnin Free’ has a vaguely uplifting quality; it’s one of the few songs on the record that features a shift in tempo. Dollanganger has a supreme ability to change a song’s tempo and atmosphere with a mere inflection of her voice, and you sometimes wish she would do it more, as some of the tracks in the middle feel a little flat.
Dollanganger’s song-writing can’t be disputed however, as she continues to weave powerful, poetic narratives, in a ghostly, ethereal manner. She cleverly changes perspectives on the album, singing from the perspective of an abusive male on ‘Moonlite’, singing, “Got you mounted on a wall/In the back of my mind”, as she explores a toxic relationship. ‘Whispering Glades’ is a cathartic eulogy, Dollanganger condemning a male manipulator, who fools women with “a face made for daytime TV shows/a nightmare disguised as a good dream”, the song ending with Dollanganger burying him.
Dollanganger tackles complicated feelings and relationships throughout, with death a prevalent theme, befitting a record that sometimes feels like a ghost is singing it. ‘Sometime After Midnight’ is the record’s ghostly peak, with its creepy, indeterminable voices in the background. The album has the feel of a funeral at times, from the pounding percussion at the end of ‘Moonlite’ and the floating church bells that chime in the background of ‘Summit Song’.
Married in Mount Airy is another example of Dollanganger’s superb ability to create densely atmospheric records full of dark, vivid imagery that many poets would envy. The record expands on her DIY beginnings, bringing a cinematic quality that her voice deserves. It may slip into a lull at points, but it’s still an intensely powerful listen.