There are a lot of what I'd call singer-songwriters, enough that one asks if there's room for one more. However, look closer here. Lael Neale is doing something different on Altogether Stranger. With a premium put on texture, production, and mood, these tunes have a resonance lacking in those of the musician's peers.
"Wide Waters" is bright, snatches of New Wave-inspired keyboards stretch out and buttress the melody, while "All Good Things Come to Pass" is smarter still. Neale's wonderful voice is set deep in the mix, with strums and a few clanks pushing the hook forward. The surprisingly Kraftwerk-y "Down on the Freeway" is a real highlight here. Producer/mixer Guy Blakeslee keeps this one rather simple, but the accents which are here are sharp and precise. You could almost take Lael's vocals out and have a cool electro-pop tune, but why would you want to do that? That adept blend of voice and production reaches a kind of peak on "New Ages", a cut where Neale's diamond-hard voice cuts a path skyward atop subtle guitar and a few keyboard figures. It's a little like Fiona Apple's best earlier work, or Aimee Mann's, but it's all Neale's here in 2025.
Lael Neale and producer Guy Blakeslee are from Virginia and Baltimore, Maryland, respectively, and those are two reasons for this D.C.-centered site to love their work. However, there's more to it than that. What's on Altogether Stranger is so very well-done that I really hope that this one gets the attention it deserves. There's nuance and mood here, and a neat synergy between the production and Neale's vocal performances. Sometimes when you think a record is another singer-songwriter effort, you can be very, very pleasantly surprised.
Altogether Stranger by Lael Neale is out this week via Sub Pop.
[Photo: Alexandra Cabral]