Singer-songwriter Ora Cogan, based in Vancouver Island, has been creating and releasing “cinematic compositions” since 2007. Her ninth album, Formless (Prism Tongue Records), presents a “bizarre sonic Venn diagram” of influences including gothic country, psychedelia, post-punk and more, according to the accompanying press release.

There is certainly a hazy, washed-out drowsiness reminiscent of country music that runs through Formless’  nine tracks. Unidentifiable reverb-drenched and languorous drone-like textures gently rise and fall, saturating the spaces in the otherwise sparse and restrained arrangements in which clean or acoustic guitars and delicate drums dominate, amongst various other instruments including violins and trumpets. At the centre of it all is the Cogan’s voice, soothing and melancholy, and of similar register and tone to folk-rock luminaries such as Sandy Denny, Maddy Prior, and Jacqui McShee.

The production has a pleasing vintage charm, owing no doubt to the use of analogue tape and the abundance of warm reverbs. The audible artifacts of the analogue approach, including tape saturation, hiss, and wow and flutter give Formless something of a timeless, nostalgic quality that befits the music.

The songs themselves are powerful in their understated way. Whilst the sonics are dreamlike and the dynamics muted, there is a sense of unease and darkness that pervades many of the compositions. Indeed, there are parts (such as on album opener “High Noon”) when it feels like Cogan is reinterpreting the post-Punk/Goth lexicon through the lens of alt-country musical arrangement — almost like Gillian Welch covering The Sisters of Mercy. Whilst the songs follow a surreal and slow-burning approach rather than relying on punchy choruses, there are nevertheless many catchy and memorable vocal lines, often augmented by luscious harmonies and underpinned by subtle guitar hooks.

Several guest musicians add parts to some songs, including Lankum’s Cormac Mac Diarmanda and Y La Bamba’s Luz Elena Mendoza, with whom Cogan duets on the mournfully wistful “Ways of Losing”.

An obvious stylistic comparison would be the equally bitter-sweet and ambient work of Mazzy Star, with whom Cogan has performed in the past. But there are times when Formless sounds close to the quieter and more sombre side of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and others when it harks back sixties folk-rock groups such as Fairport Convention or Steeleye Span (most notably on the mystical, dark, and driving cover of the traditional folk song “Katie Cruel”).

Formless is a record rich with atmosphere and possessed of powerful songs delivered with rare subtlety and grace. Rather than relying on pop hooks or heavy dynamics, the album’s light-footedly enchanting textures gently pull us in (ever more with repeat listens) to the steady, smooth catharsis of Cogan’s understatedly beautiful songs.

Buy the album here:

https://oracogan.bandcamp.com/album/formless

8 / 10

DUNCAN EVANS