Johanna Warren Travels Deep Into the Emotional Murk On "Gemini I"

By Cris Lankenau

[SPIRITS IN THE FOREST] Johanna Warren's introspective Gemini I delves a little deeper into the soul-searching murk she first waded into with last year's Numun. It is the maiden release of Warren's own Spirit House label and serves as a prequel to its forthcoming mirror-image counterpart, Gemini II. The records are themed after polarized lover and devil tarot cards and the effect of otherworldly influences over human romance. "Let Me Stay" reflects on a tumultuous love affair in dreamy, atmospheric tones, but it's the intro of overdubbed "oohs" that elevate it to transcendence. Somber piano chords propel the eerie, simplistic "circlenot astraight" and reveal a tone just as ingratiating in another context. As is the case overall with Gemini I, the most inviting quality is Warren's soothing timbre, somewhere between Jenny Lewis and lofty British singer Kate Walsh. "Hungry Ghost" stands out immediately by contrast among the slower numbers, with its catchy tempo and infectious one-word coda. But the sonic set dressing of alternate tunings and steel-string acoustic guitar work best on the spooky, minor-key lullabies that populate most of Gemini I. The meditation is presumably intentional, considering this is the record that focuses on the devil card, so it'll be glorious to see where Warren goes under a more divine inspiration.

Related: "Johanna Warren finds new life under the pale moon."

SEE IT: Johanna Warren plays Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., with WL, Ilyas Ahmed & Jonathan Sielaff, Kya Bliss and DJ Jen O, on Wednesday, Sept. 21. 8:30 pm. $7. 21+.

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