And Your Song is Like a Circle

Helen Ballentine’s musical moniker Skullcrusher suggests a far different kind of music than what she writes. On <i>And Your Song Is Like a Circle</i>, the songs sink in like a scalp massage; there’s no physical crushing here. Ballentine’s second album, though, isn’t as light as some of the instrumentals suggest: Inspired by filmmakers like David Lynch and Hayao Miyazaki, Ballentine examines the nature of the human experience—the duality of feeling infinitely alive while knowing that sensation is fleeting. The concept is also reflected in the album title and the riverlike way these songs flow into one another. “Living” features Ballentine’s voice floating disparately against layers of harmonies and abstract synths, before a simple drum groove gives the song forward direction. It eventually concludes right back where it began, though, completing the circle.