Hysteria

“I am alone, but I’m not lonely,” sings Indigo Sparke on her second album, written during lockdown in her home country of Australia after a stint in New York. That self-possessed air is characteristic of *Hysteria*, which documents the singer-songwriter coming to terms with simmering personal drama. In fact, many of these songs play like sensitive exorcisms of anxiety and other woes. Observe the rousing titular refrain coming to a head on “Pressure in My Chest.” Working with producer/multi-instrumentalist Aaron Dessner (The National, Taylor Swift), guitarist Shahzad Ismaily (Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog), and drummer Matt Barrick (The Walkmen) upon her return to New York, Sparke instills these songs with intimacy and warmth. That’s there in the lightly brushed drums and dusky keyboards of “Pluto,” as well as during the more upbeat folk pop of the title track. Whatever the tempo, Sparke’s voice flutters with refreshing lightness before gathering strength for another well-earned catharsis.

The Australian folk artist’s second album is glossier and broader than its predecessor, but the most stunning moments are still ones of hushed reverence.

On her latest album, produced by Aaron Dessner of The National, Sparke's music holds a beautiful portrait of midnight…

When Indigo Sparke made her full-length recording debut, it was with the delicate and graceful echo, a sparsely arranged set of poignant indie folk songs produced by Big Thief's Adrianne Lenker and marked by a brittleness not dissimilar to the latter's own solo material.

Hysteria by Indigo Sparke: a dense, varied exploration of grief and growth from the fast-developing Australian songwriter

Indigo Sparke's 'Hysteria' is an immersive, blurry mood piece of alternative songwriting that captures the confusing and fluctuating feelings inside of her.