LA-based indie-pop artist BEL (aka Isabel Whelan) has released her debut LP, Holy Grail.
Featuring the already-released singles “Amor,” “Party Tricks,” “I Want,” and “Fresh Start,” Holy Grail was produced by Jason Vance Harris (Role Model, Juliet Ivy) and is centred around BEL’s childhood dreams, penchant for vivid storytelling, emotive lyrics, and sweet yet sultry voice.
BEL's first full-length LP after several well-received EPs, Holy Grail is truly the result of a labour of love with its cinematic sound and hazy production.
According to BEL: “I started writing my debut album two years ago when I wrote the title track, 'Holy Grail.' At the time, I wanted so many things for my life and career that all seemed so out of reach. Every song on the album is an archive of my hopes, dreams, joys, sorrows, and self-reflections in my quest for the Holy Grail. Everything is paired to a visual world that references my childhood dreams, and [the album] gives a window into what it feels like to go all in on your dreams and surrender to the unknown.”
Listening through: Holy Grail invites you into a dark and cozy cinema to watch a short film. Gentle and lilting, each track is a lovely piece of dreamy indie-pop complemented by BEL’s simultaneously warm and strong vocals.
Holy Grail starts up with three sweet, airy indie-pop tracks – “I Want,” the poppy, Spanglish “Amor,” and my personal favourite BEL track, “Party Tricks.” All three tracks feel like a summer day, before the album delves into a rougher sound that almost feels like a seasonal shift.
The contrast in BEL’s vocals is particularly apparent on a track like “Read Between,” where the final third of the song drops in a fuzzy, staticky guitar melody that gives BEL room to add a touch of harshness to her voice. This is also the case on “Hindsight” and “Look It Up,” which both feature darker, groovier bass tracks and harsher drumming compared with the first few songs.
The album takes another turn for “Only Want You,” a starkly-instrumented, vocal-forward track with some interesting production that sways in triads as BEL sings “I only want you/and I’m scared if that’s true/that I’ll break my own heart/before you even get to.”
It’s noticeably moodier than the preceding tracks, which isn’t to suggest the album itself isn’t moody overall. Rather, “Only Want You” is the most starkly downbeat of the album’s tracks, and has the lyrical heartbreak to match.
“Only Want You” is then followed by “Fresh Start,” which features the same sense of heartbreak but moved on a few phases, with BEL seeming to indicate that she’s pretty much ready to move on, were it not for the object of her affections trying to reel her back in.
The final quarter of the album transitions into a richer, almost more mature sound featuring a wider collection of guest instruments, while at the same time leaving the overall sound starker, with more time given to moments of poignant silence. Strings feature heavily on “What Do You Want Me To Say?”–and the following title track, “Holy Grail,” makes excellent use of slide guitar and choral-style background vocals.
Both tracks create a lush soundscape that feels miles away from the album’s opening summer-y indie-pop, before it comes crashing back in with the lead single “Parachute.”
The album’s focus single feels like an indie-pop opener that’s been out in the world for a few years and returned with a deeper understanding of itself. The lyrics even say “I know what I’m looking for/I just gotta look some more.” But even with the hazy, piped-in fuzziness of the production, it’s still immensely jammable—pure, toe-tapping indie goodness.
Overall, BEL’s Holy Grail is a wonderfully put-together album that groups its distinct sounds beautifully, all fit together and transitioned in a practically seamless way.
You can really feel as a listener that the album was written over a lengthy stretch of time, and it feels like BEL really matures over the course of Holy Grail’s 12 tracks.
Holy Grail is a great little indie gem that’s been released at exactly the right time, and deserves to enjoy a big reception.
