SPELLLING
Shares new single “Alibi”
A crunchy punk-rock anthem ft Turnstile guitarist Pat McCrory
Announces European tour including UK run
New album ‘Portrait of My Heart’ out March 28th on Sacred Bones
SPELLLING (aka Chrystia Cabral) shares a second single from her forthcoming new album, ‘Portrait of My Heart’, out March 28th via Sacred Bones, and has announced UK and mainland European headline dates this Summer
Following the vast album title track “Portrait of My Heart”, the new track “Alibi” is a chugging and spiralling punk-rock anthem, where Cabral’s honeyed vocals spiral over crunching riffs from Turnstile guitarist Pat McCrory, as she pledges an oath to herself, vowing “I won’t take you back this time“.
“On Alibi I’m tapping into the almost kind of comedic and hysteric relief that kicks in when you make it out of the other side of a toxic relationship. Once the spell is broken and clarity restores good sense there’s just this buoyancy to life that lets you laugh at the absurdities” Cabral comments. “This is one of those songs that sprung up on me out of nowhere in a super bold and in my face way. Sometimes I like to deliberately withhold recording ideas to make sure that it’s contagious enough to stick in just my memory. This is one that stuck for so long to the point that I was like yes, let me follow through with it and see what I can do.”
She adds: “I’m a huge fan of Liz Phair and I let myself channel her very candid and penetratingly plainstated approach to lyricism. This song definitely unlocked this angsty side of myself that was very cathartic and fun to release.”
SPELLLING is channelling a new direction in the latest single, showing this almighty range for the artist and touching on this 90’s hard rock nostalgic flair. SPELLLING drops another track that captures the exhilarating energy of the artist and this imaginative musical palette that continues to captivate anyone who listens.
SPELLLING will be playing her first UK headline tour later this year, before heading into mainland Europe. Dates are:
Mon. June 9 – Bristol, UK @ Exchange
Tue. June 10 – Manchester, UK @ YES
Wed. June 11 – London, UK @ Village Underground
Thu. June 12 – Brighton, UK @ DUST
Sat. June 14 – Brussels, BE @ Rotonde
Sun. June 15 – Beekse Bergen, NL @ Best Kept Secret Festival
Mon. June 16 – Berlin, DE @ Lido
Wed. June 18 – Bern, CH @ Dampfzentrale
Fri. June 20 – Paris, FR @ Petit Bain
On Cabral’s fourth album as SPELLLING, the Bay Area artist transforms her acclaimed avant-pop project into a mirror, as her lyrics for ‘Portrait of My Heart’ tackle love, intimacy, anxiety, and alienation, trading the allegorical approach of much of her previous work for something she says is “pointed into my human heart.” The result is the sharpest, most direct SPELLLING album to date, and its immediacy emphasises the essential mutability of Cabral’s practice. From the dark minimalism of her earliest music to the lavishly orchestrated prog-pop of 2021’s ‘The Turning Wheel‘ to this newly energetic expression of her creative spirit, Cabral has proved again and again that SPELLLING can be whatever she needs it to be.
Before undertaking her tour for ‘The Turning Wheel’, Cabral assembled a band including core members Wyatt Overson (guitar), Patrick Shelley (drums), and Giulio Xavier Cetto (bass), and their ongoing collaboration has uncovered new contours of the SPELLLING sound. Cabral still writes and demos in isolation, but presenting the songs for ‘Portrait of My Heart’ to her bandmates, named the Mystery School, helped her discover their eventual lively, organic forms. So did working with a trio of producers—The Turning Wheel mixing engineer Drew Vandenberg, SZA collaborator Rob Bisel, and Yves Tumor producer Psymun.
However, ‘Portrait of My Heart’ is also shaped significantly by its guest musicians. The original plan was to have a featured artist on every track; that idea was scrapped when Cabral realized some of the material was too personal to put in someone else’s mouth. But a few key features help shape the album. Chaz Bear (Toro y Moi) sings on “Mount Analogue,” the first true duet in the SPELLLING discography. Turnstile guitarist Pat McCrory turns Cabral’s original piano demo for “Alibi” into the crunchy, riff-y version that appears on the record, while Zulu’s Braxton Marcellous gives “Drain” its sludgy heft. These parts aren’t just incorporated seamlessly into the album; they feel like an integral part of its universe.
Ultimately, though, ‘Portrait of My Heart’ is nobody’s record but Cabral’s. She fearlessly draws the curtain back on parts of herself that she’s never included in SPELLLING before—her feelings of being an outsider, her overly guarded nature, the way she can throw herself recklessly into intimate relationships and then cool on them just as quickly. “It’s very much an open diary of all those sensations,” she says. There’s a real generosity in that, as listeners may recognise themselves in Portrait of My Heart in a way they haven’t on past albums.
Portrait of My Heart’ will be released on March 28th via Sacred Bones. Pre-order/pre-save it here.
‘Portrait of My Heart’ Tracklist:
1. Portrait of My Heart
2. Keep It Alive
3. Alibi
4. Waterfall
5. Destiny Arrives
6. Ammunition
7. Mount Analogue
8. Drain
9. Satisfaction
10. Love Ray Eyes
11. Sometimes (My Bloody Valentine cover)
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