Blood Moon

Ambient pop and indie folk singer-songwriter RY X (born Ry Cuming) continues to broaden his artistry on this hypnotic follow-up to 2019’s Unfurl. The Angourie, New South Wales-raised, California-based artist’s fourth album was recorded among the dreamy vistas of Los Angeles’ Topanga Canyon, and the area’s natural intensity is reflected everywhere. It’s the kind of music you might find yourself listening to during existential reflections, or while untangling life’s big questions.

Opening track “Let You Go” builds from introspective minimalism to a rich climax while Cuming examines a relationship. “Does anybody really know where they go when they die?” he asks. “You’re the one I want this close, you’re the one I can’t deny.” “Your Love” begins on a slow, steady rhythm, later making way for soaring falsetto and a heavy pulse. “Your love, your love,” he repeats, over and over, as a heartfelt mantra. And the driving, distinctive piano of “Spiral” lays minimal foundations beneath philosophical ponderings: “Hold my mind, leave your sign here/Show the light, what defines me?” Blood Moon expands on Cuming’s previous work in the best kind of way—it takes the soul-searching ethos he’s already known for, pushes its boundaries, and finds even more evocative ways to express and expand.