Maria Minerva

The inimitable Estonian ex-pat takes inspiration from current hood, Brooklyn, in the darker, beguiling pop contours of her 3rd album proper. The challenging yet  gratifying arrangements of 'Histrionic' are testament to both her consistency as a boundary-pushing artist, and an enduring belief in the role of pop music as a model for incisive cultural commentary and observation. Her sound here is more layered, spacious than previously heard, yet denser than ever, crammed with uncanny lyrical observations and interweaving, chimeric traces of psychedelic Trap and UK Bass music oiled with the sensuality of '90s House/R&B and ambient rave lushness, plus exotic outernational elements and a crucial dose of pure pop. It still sounds quite like nobody else out there, delivered in that slightly off-key vocal against writhing, de-glazed grooves as raw as they are intricate and infectious. We hear highlights in the lazer-rave swing of 'Wolves & Lambs', in the rickety construct and discordant synths of 'Ivory Tower' with its haunting refrain, "You Fooled Me Once / But Then You Fooled Me Twice", again in the melting synth shapes and struggling vocal of 'Galaxy', and the reggae-boogie-pop lope of 'Runaway'. Ultimately, Ms Minerva sounds more confident than ever, but never at the risk of sounding smug or complacent; simply more in charge of her sound and how she expresses herself. 'Histrionic' is a peach and we can't wait to spend the summer with it.