REVIEW: Metamorphosis by Bethan Lloyd

If there was an artist that was truly connected to the cosmos, then that artist would be Bethan Lloyd.

The connection to the cosmos, the Universe, the source or whatever one may call it, shimmies and snakes its way through her album Metamorphosis with magical ease.

The Welsh artist who is a classically trained singer has expanded past so called tradition and let her voice become its own unique instrument. Her immersion in Berlin’s experimental music scene and learning from masters and the ancient teachings of the natural world have given Bethan’s instrument not only a distinct perspective but a distinct sound.

There are moments within Metamorphosis where I question if Bethan is even singing in a language of this planet as she has a wonderful way of pitching her vocals and constricting the words to sound otherworldly and magical. I imagine that if J.R.R Tolkein had known Bethan, then her voice and vocal talent would have inspired the language he created for Middle-earth.

Bethan’s voice is captivating and one can briefly catch that “traditional vocal sound” in “Cutting Circuits” but for me, it’s when she is experimenting with her instrument that she shines the brightest.

The music of Metamorphosis and its beats are precise, hypnotic, and soul connecting ranging from primordial to futuristic and are intertwined with a magic that is beyond words that this writer is capable of crafting in her human bound brain.

Within the eight tracks of Metamorphosis, there is not one skippable track. I found the first four songs, “Boss of Big Dreams”, “No Umbilical”, “Antares”, and “Aria” to be ethereal and cosmic in energy and mood as if Bethan were channelling an enlightened higher being. 

The last four songs, “Cutting Circuits”, “Parasitic Yes”, “None of the Above”, and “Whatever We Delete” have more of an aggressive, irritated, and Earthbound energy as if Bethan’s eternal soul is raging against being stuck on this planet and dealing with us mere humans.

The experience one has while listening to Metamorphosis by Bethan Lloyd is nothing short of transcendence.

MUST LISTEN TRACKS: “Antares”, “Parasitic Yes”, “Boss of Big Dreams”, “Cutting Circuits”

FAVOURITE TRACK: “Cutting Circuits”, “Aria” “Parasitic Yes” “None of the Above”

Metamorphosis comes out on April 7th, pre-order here or pre-save on Spotify here.

Listen to tracks from Metamorphosis below