Louise Burns: The Midnight Mass (Light Organ, 7/9/13)
The story of Vancouver’s Louise Burns is interesting to say the least. After spending more than a decade in pop-rock outfit Lillix, Burns released a solo album in a similar style in 2011. The next year she joined synth-pop outfit Gold & Youth, which released its debut album in May. Now Burns follows up with her second full-length, The Midnight Mass, and puts all of her experience together with impressive results.
Mixing the melodies of her Lillix days with the slick keys of Gold & Youth (and adding reverberated guitar tones for good measure), Burns conjures a versatile sound that will manage to keep a variety of fans happy — from admirers of the swirl of the Cocteau Twins to dark-wave devotees, and even to those who appreciate the drama of a good Ennio Morricone piece.