Album Review
4-5 Stars - A deeply evocative and disarming full-length album that lingers in the minds of listeners long after it ends.
Reviewer: Sarah Jamieson
Released: 17th October 2025
Label: Dirty Hit
“What do I live for? Who do I live for? I’m not sure anymore,” ponders Helen Ballantine, known as Skullcrusher, amidst the opening notes of her second album. Written during a time of significant changes for the artist - including a relocation from Los Angeles to upstate New York and a prolonged period of solitude - ‘And Your Song Is Like A Circle’ serves as a poignant exploration of life, loss, and meaning, revealing layers that gradually unfold with each listen. This record feels both sparse and richly textured; its sonics are captivating - consider the crashing waves at the end of ‘March’ or the ethereal quality of ‘Changes’, where a finger-plucked guitar line enhances its gentle fragility. Additionally, her lyrics and vocals are beautiful; though often tinged with darkness, they ebb and flow like the grief and loneliness that inspired the album, always reaching toward the light. An exceptionally moving and disarming full-length that will linger with listeners well beyond its final notes.
In preparation for the upcoming launch of the remastered audio from the ‘One to One’ concert, Aidan Moyer from Atwood Magazine reflects on an interview conducted in April 2025 with Sam Rice-Edwards, the co-director of this year's documentary about the build-up to the concerts, Yoko Ono and John Lennon’s activism at the time, and the possibility of further archival releases from that era.
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A richly textured, adaptable, and curious variety of return.
A profoundly moving and captivating full-length piece that will linger in the minds of listeners well after it has finished.