Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.
Following an agreeable if inconsequential debut, the second album from British oddball Gemma Ray plunders the graveyard of retro pop styles to dazzling effect. The Wall of Sound production wraps her woozy multitracked voice in lush strings, twangy guitar, and booming percussion, lending the dark melodies a sense of vertigo. Whether evoking classic girl groups (“So Do I”) or echoing James Bond’s elegant sleaze (“100 mph [in 2nd Gear]”), Lights Out Zoltar! mesmerizes.
