Call It Love

Sometimes rather than choose one, the best thing is to merge two together. Seattle-based Briana Marela was caught between two styles, straddling stark ambient noise on one side and more radiating, electronic-based pop tunes on the other. She’d intended to keep her newest record split between the two, but she brought them together instead. Call It Love is an intimate album with attention-holding undertones, a mix of ethereal, angelic melodies and seamlessly stitched synths. The turns are subtle, like on “Feel What I Feel,” when the chorus eclipses the verse with pulsing low bass, and when little delicate synth blips fall like confetti, the moment feels reminiscent of something by the Animal Collective. Marela’s lyrics are less hooks and more wheels, slow and repetitive, rolling the melodies forward, solidifying the simple phrases into the listener’s brain. Her instrumental builds are just as steady. On “Give Me Your Love,” Marela builds a simple pop chorus before taking a midsong twist, bringing in new sonic colors while slowly weaving in the initial licks, ending with a massive tapestry.