舊金山音樂人 SPELLLING 出道以來從未侷限自己的創作框架，從最一開始神秘的實驗咒語、歌德的 space soul 到上一張專輯《The Turning Wheel》改頭換面使用大量原聲樂器創作的歌劇魅影，持續的對自己的音樂邊界突破與探索，展現他作為藝術家的多元性與潛能。
這次的新專輯《Portrait of My Heart》他再度頭也不回的轉身，捨棄過去總是充滿神秘的能量，前往自己的 90 年代搖滾樂中心來一場直球對決；SPELLLING 從喜愛的另類搖滾、nu-metal、前衛搖滾、流行龐克等... 音樂裡萃取靈感，正面的描繪愛、親密、焦慮與疏離；新專輯邀請 SZA 製作人 Rob Bisel 與 Yves Tumor 的合作夥伴 Psymun 共同製作，整張專輯聽起來就像是現場演出，就像是直接呈現在舞台上，直接、坦率的搖滾樂，更令人驚喜的是專輯中的最後一首歌翻唱了 My Bloody Valentine 的〈Sometimes〉，彷彿是觀眾安可上台後的那個最最高潮時刻。
On Chrystia Cabral fourth album as SPELLLING, the Bay Area artist transforms her acclaimed avant-pop project into a mirror. Cabral lyrics for Portrait of My Heart tackle love, intimacy, anxiety, and alienation, trading the allegorical approach of much of her previous work for something pointed into her human heart. The album thematic forthrightness is echoed in its arrangements, making it the sharpest, most direct SPELLLING album to date. From the dark minimalism of her earliest music to the lavishly orchestrated prog-pop of 2021 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.
The title track, with its propulsive drum groove and anthemic chorus of “I dont belong here,” is the most potent embodiment of the album turn toward emotional directness. Once the main melody emerged, Cabral used the song as a tool to process her anxiety as a performer and opted for a tighter, more rock-oriented composition. This transformation mirrors the album broader shift toward energy and immediacy, driven by the core band of Wyatt Overson (guitar), Patrick Shelley (drums), and Giulio Xavier Cetto (bass), whose collaboration uncovers 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 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.
Key guest contributions further shape the album. Chaz Bear (Toro y Moi) delivers SPELLLING first duet on “Mount Analogue,” Turnstile guitarist Pat McCrory turns Cabral original piano demo for “Alibi” into the crunchy, riff-y version that appears on the record, while Zulu Braxton Marcellous gives “Drain” its sludgy heft. These parts arent just incorporated seamlessly into the album; they feel like an integral part of its universe.
Ultimately, though, Portrait of My Heart is nobody record but Cabral. She fearlessly draws the curtain back on parts of herself that she 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. “Its very much an open diary of all those sensations,” she says.
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