by Wes Muilenburg (@purityolympics)
From the first line of Indistinct Conversations, Elizabeth Powell makes it abundantly clear what the ensuing record will be about. “Please be diaphanous” they plead on the aptly named opener “Diaphanous.” Their request for delicacy, transparency, perhaps a bit of openness, may not lead to the best conclusion, but it is what is needed presently, even if it’s “not enough.” On their fourth album under the Land of Talk moniker, Powell wields their emotions carefully yet potently, never revealing the full extent of what inspired the vibrant songs while still hinting at the current lying underneath.
Land of Talk can seem like a well-kept secret when one first encounters their music. I was surprised to discover that the project had been around since the mid-aughts, always assuming it was a more recent evolution in the ever-expanding sphere of singer-songwriter-y indie rock. Collaborations with musical touchstones like Sharon Van Etten and members of Arcade Fire and Sonic Youth never elevated Land of Talk to the indie stratosphere, despite a consistently rewarding discography. Instead, Powell, the project’s sole constant member and its powerhouse, has elected to work towards a catalog that is deeper than it is wide. Each release is a thorough conversation between Powell and the world around them.
Indistinct Conversations was crafted in Montreal with bassist Christopher McCarron and drummer Mark “Bucky” Wheaton. The insular nature of Powell’s songs is enhanced by its creation process, arranged and produced with McCarron and Wheaton at the latter’s home. They were given free rein to create the exact record they had in mind on their own terms. Powell’s voice remains the ghostly guiding light of every Land of Talk record, Indistinct Conversations included. While guitar isn’t always at the forefront as it tends to be on contemporary indie rock records, there is a subtle finesse to how Powell handles their instrument. Melody is emphasized over technical showiness (though this doesn’t stop Powell from ripping a sick solo at the end of “A/B Futures”). An economy of style in each performance unifies the band in its grand mission of storytelling.
Listening to Land of Talk feels like an unexpected heart-to-heart with a new friend. Powell’s understanding of their own emotional experiences gives them a clear-eyed gaze with which to face the relationships and passions that inspire their songs. It takes a great deal of introspection to compartmentalize how one does something as significant as love like Powell does on “Love in 2 Stages.” They are a careful student of how they interact with time, whether professing endless dedication on “Footnotes” or declaring themselves to be “your future lover” on “A/B Futures.” The themes that Powell delves into are heavy at their core but presented with buoyancy. As they pray for love and healing after trauma on “Weight of That Weekend,” the world of the song flows from their lips over an instrumental that could almost be described as jaunty. Melody comes effortlessly – so effortlessly that it might mask the well of pain contained within the lyrics. French horn augments the final chorus and gives it a push of anthemic energy that recalls Powell’s former collaborators in Broken Social Scene.
Indistinct Conversations comes to an end with its title track. A temperate guitar strums along with light drums and synths. Powell’s voice is not featured; instead, like some kind of inverse Bright Eyes album intro, myriad recordings of phone conversations phase in and out. It is quite literal in bringing the album’s title to life, a spectral comedown after the crushing final moments of penultimate track “Now You Want to Live in the Light.” The prior ten tracks waded into the boundless sentiments held within Powell; now, we hear snippets of the lives of others.
The last fifteen years (roughly half of which was spent on hiatus) has brought Land of Talk to a special place. Each record abounds with Powell’s singular identity, though the sonic backdrop has ebbed and flowed more than shifted outright. Indistinct Conversations blends the glow of familiarity with an embroidered intricacy that reveals more upon repeated listens. Land of Talk has made their best record yet, one that will welcome in new friends and give comfort to old ones.