Composer, instrumentalist and vocalist Natalie Rose LeBrecht has released a handful of records in the 21st century, first as Greenpot Bluepot, then under her own name. Holy Prana Open Game is her latest, a striking blend of spiritual experimentalism and ethereal song form that coheres into meditative avant-pop with depth and edge. Fans of psychedelia, Minimalism, the cosmic outer reaches of New Age and even good ol’ dream pop should take note. Featuring contributions from guitarist Mick Turner and drummer Jim White of Dirty Three plus LeBrecht’s regular collaborator David Lackner on woodwinds, ewi, and additional synth, the album is out June 9 on vinyl and digital via American Dreams.
As revealed in Holy Prana Open Game’s nifty short accompanying essay by Douglas Wolk, the origins of LeBrecht’s latest album (by my count her third under her own name) was a 14-day practice of silent meditation she undertook in her music room in 2019. Upon soaking up the record’s six tracks, the roots of the recording shine through with clarity but with a broad range of styles rather than merely locking into floating ambient tranquility.
The Brooklyn-based LeBrecht has studied with the great drone pioneers of Just Intonation La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela, and has additionally assisted them at their sound-and-light installation the Dream House in NYC, so her handle on substantive drift is solid, but she’s also a writer of robust songs, and while she’s obviously comfortable with collaboration, the contributions to LeBrecht’s latest were executed remotely in 2020 during the COVID pandemic.
Without being told, I never would’ve guessed this was a pandemic album, as Holy Prana Open Game offers a surplus of enveloping warmth. Opener “Home” comes on like Terry Riley and very quickly LeBrecht’s vocals emerge, reframing the piece as a combination of dream pop and the devotional music of Alice Coltrane, at least until the tide shifts again toward the darkly psychedelic.
LeBrecht isn’t afraid to stretch out here, but always with discipline in the pursuit of her goals. “Prana” begins in an especially dream poppy place, only to gradually branch out into an experimental pop realm. The record’s analog synth foundation (recorded at Martin Bisi’s joint just pre-pandemic) strives for the cinematically futuristic in “Prana” rather than shooting for the retro, as LeBrecht generally eschews a throwback aura throughout (a non-labored similarity to ’90s non-dance electronica doesn’t count). Instead, White’s drumming takes a jazzy turn and the vocals tap into a spiritual current late in the track.
“Holy,” which at four minutes might as well be Holy Prana Open Game’s single, is a piano-based chamber-pop nugget that resonates like it could’ve been part of the ’90s Alternative wave, except that it’s much heavier and more strikingly layered than most of the stuff that constituted that scene. It flows nicely into an inspired cover of “Amok” by Atoms for Peace, an unexpected twist that underscores LeBrecht’s refusal to be pinned down stylistically.
Long stretches of “Open” hit like Terry Riley recruiting a woodwind army to score an adventure video game, at least until matters soar into the freeform. That Lackner favors a soprano sax (it could be a clarinet) reinforces the spiritual, though there are a few moments across the record that suggest lush ’70s pop. Closer “Game Over” is a tidy multitracked vocal beauty move.
The words LeBrecht sings throughout are also uncommonly strong, as Holy Prana Open Game is one of the few records where printed lyrics are an unmitigated plus. It’s an altogether well-rounded LP.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
