I’m going to come right out and say A.A. Williams’ latest record, Solstice, is quite simply an album of bangers. There, I said it. No flowery words needed. The record released on June 5th and is probably her best yet.
I’ve been following her music since 2020’s Forever Blue, was floored by 2022’s As the Moon Rests, and I honestly wasn’t sure she could top that last one. But I was wrong. The lineup on this album is A. A. Williams on vocals, piano, electric guitar, and cello; Matt de Burgh Daly on electric guitar, electric bass guitar, drums; and Wayne Proctor on drums.
A.A. Williams offers a dark blend of alternative edge, singer songwriter sensibilities, and what I would call post-doom metal. She certainly has the melancholy and the methodical approach, the deeply sorrowful and poetically angry lyrics (without getting angsty), the mighty crescendos with shoegaze-laden guitars. Her music revels in slow-burns, celebrates soaring guitars, and basks in shadowy halls.
Solstice has really connected with me on a lyrical level, not only because of emotions I experience, but also through putting words to emotions I see in others. The album feels confident, not wallowing in the sorrow, but instead naming, understanding, and challenging it. It truly feels like a turning point in personal metamorphosis, somehow.
The album has 11 songs and all of them are great. It features instant favorites like “Poison”, the opener that will have you singing along right away; the Anathema-like “Wolves” with its gorgeous vista; the reeling yet cautious “Little by Little” (I love the way she says “during” in this song, for some reason); and the gentle ambient river of “I’ve Seen Enough” in all its quiet power. There are so many great tracks in both halves, it’s almost ridiculous.
But there are some specific songs that reach me the most. First up is “Hold It Together”, a towering and vulnerable piece that almost feels like drowning; well, until the confident guitars erupt and the human strength seems to flow in like a deluge. It is an act of defiance and love against a world tearing us apart. My other favorites are similar in tone: the energetic “Just a Shadow” with its catchy rhythms, the melodic and effervescent atmosphere of “It Won’t Rain Forever”, and the personal and floating “The Gentle Harm”, closing the record in layers and octaves. In fact, the entire second half of the record runs with such power, such progressive warmth, such rising humanity, that it’s easy to get caught up in the flow. It’s quite a trip.
A.A. Williams has outdone herself. Solstice is a strong offering full of conviction, allowing us to dip our toes into the melancholy pond, but only so we can name the pain and conquer it. Every song fits. Every song seems to grab me. The darkness here is utterly beautiful.
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