A common mistake many make is to dismiss out of hand that which they don’t initially understand. No one wants an interpreter to enjoy a song, right? Yet, once we spend time with the music in question, it dawns on us that the words are less important than the way in which they’re sung, that the singer’s caress of syllables, consonants and vowels translates all that we need to know. Lithuanian singer-songwriter Alina Orlova’s latest set, Nakties Atvirukai (translation: Night Postcards), is a good example. Though some songs intersperse lines in English (the better to beguile us), it’s primarily sung in her native tongue—yet the moody set captures and conveys the fears and concerns that keep many of us up at night.
Orlova describes the album as “a self-reflective journey through melancholic waters of hope and bittersweet escapistic illusions.” I’d add that a Kate Bush ambience permeates throughout, with delicate melodies wafting one moment and thick, fog-like arrangements rolling in the next. Either/or, her vocals serve as beacons that guide us through the darkness.
One need not employ Google Translate to know “Kažkur Toli,” released as a single last week, is about a longing that can’t be quenched, with its steady rhythm feeding the fever until a cacophonous guitar spikes the feeling to higher temps. “Iš Kur?” finds us floating above the clouds, while the mesmerizing “Amygdala” takes into the stormy dreams that punctuate her sleep. “Skaičius” and “Sedate Me” maintain the mood, with the latter finding her in need of the narcotic that is love. “Sodas” features a spoken-word soliloquy that shimmers, while the delicate “Limerance” glimmers.
In short, Nakties Atvirukai is a hypnotic set that replicates those moments when we’re drifting into or out for sleep; Arlina Orlova has knitted a patchwork quilt from dreams, fantasies and reality that’s as warm as it is unique.
The track list:
The Old Grey Cat 