Brigitte Bardini invites listeners into her sonic garden on her debut album, Stellar Lights.
The emerging Melbourne multi-instrumentalist, producer and singer-songwriter creates an ethereal world across 14 tracks, where music blooms in the softest hues and notes twirl with rhythmic ribbon.
Leading in with the highlight track ‘Heartbreaker’ Bardini is wrapped in delicate synth swirls, with clear nods to Thom Yorke’s solo work.
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The dainty harmonies are stunning as they ride a divine wave of textured beats, buzzes and sci-fi tones. The computer-led sounds are present throughout, coming to life on the darker laser driver, ‘Everyday’, the Hans Zimmer Blade Runner reminiscent ‘Inside Your Head’ and the lead single ‘Aphrodite’ which too has striking similarities to Radiohead. When Bardini lets the synths envelop and caress the music, she shines.
Scattered between the synth celebration are mellow, acoustic folk pieces that offer contrasting melancholic Scandinavian dreariness and a whimsical playfulness as heard on ‘All My Life’, ‘Breathe’, ‘Feel My Love’, the carnival like ‘Could’ve Been’, and the title track instrumental.
Whilst the albums core themes sit within coming-of-age and exploration, Stellar Lights struggles to find its own identity, and consequently, the identity of Brigitte Bardini as an artist.
The breadth of exploration is too vast, pivoting between ambitious electronic synth styling and whimsical acoustic folk flights containing copious instrumentation.
On top of this the album is too long (58.15 minutes in total). It ultimately would have benefited from being split in half, tapping into Bardini’s stronger producing pocket.
