After a pair of buzzy indie-folk EPs at the beginning of the decade (a self-titled release in 2020, Storm in Summer in 2021), it felt like Helen Ballentine had fully established the sonic palette for her Skullcrusher project in 2022 with her debut album Quiet the Room: a blend of the minimalistic chamber-pop of her early material steeped in ambient Americana. Her newly released follow-up album And Your Song Is Like a Circle works within a similar set of influences, albeit a bit more comfortably. She also continues to expand that scope a bit, as heard as early as the project’s second track, “Dragon,” which opens up into a version of neo-dream-pop in its spacious chorus.
It’s no surprise, then, that Elizabeth Fraser’s name comes up as Ballentine discusses her influences on the project, citing the Cocteau Twins singer’s collaborative work with This Mortal Coil. In fact, several of the artists she chooses match her own music’s pairing of transfixing vocals with equally spellbinding instrumentation, whether it’s the “beautiful dissonance” of Cat Power or Julianna Barwick’s layering of her own voice. Additional mentions of figures like Grouper speak to the dreamy ambient textures she strives to recreate. “I love ambient music so much because it can just color your surroundings a certain way and offer a new perspective to what you see, the way a film score adds so much depth to the story,” she explains.
With the album out today via Dirty Hit, you can check that out here and find her full playlist of influences on And Your Song Is Like a Circle below.
This Mortal Coil, “Song to the Siren”
The vocal performance by Elizabeth Fraser is incredibly moving. It’s central to the song, and the instrumental and ambient elements swirl around it, emphasizing its power. I especially love the physical qualities noticeable in her vocals, like her trembling vibrato, which makes us feel intimate and present with the song and with her.
Cat Power, “Say”
I love this entire album [Moon Pix] by Cat Power. There’s something kind of off about it, like an old piano that’s slightly out of tune. It has a beautiful dissonance to it. In “Say,” I’m drawn to her doubled vocal, which slips slightly out of sync in moments. Her performance here is also very intimate and I can sense a kind of longing or loneliness in the vocal. The quiet thunderstorm in the background adds something visual to the song and makes me feel both comforted and unsettled.
Julianna Barwick, “Inspirit”
This song is so majestic and demonstrates the power of vocal layering. Her vocals sweep through the song in the way that a string arrangement might fall and rise. I also love how simply she introduces that deep, buzzing synth bass, and how it just grounds everything. I find myself waiting for it to come in every time I listen, anticipating that moment when the whole song seems to reach its pinnacle and feels so satisfying.
Yo La Tengo, “Our Way to Fall”
I listened to this song a lot toward the end of my time in LA. I felt I could interpret it to be about the beginning of something as well as the end of something. It made me realize I was embarking on a new beginning while experiencing nostalgia for the past. I love the little single note melody that dances through the song.
Grouper, “Disordered Minds”
I love when a song kind of buries its melody as if you’re hearing the memory of a song or looking at something through a long dark tunnel. There’s a really beautiful melody here that’s almost entirely swallowed within the atmosphere and darkness of the production. I also love how the song sort of picks up toward the end and you can sense kick drum coming in, but it’s so far off and buried. This song is like a dream, a memory, a trace. There are artifacts to find and remnants of something, but the entirety of it is hidden.
Malibu, “Nana (Like a Star Made for Me)”
My friend Isaac, who produced my record, introduced me to Malibu when we started working together. This song became a constant part of the atmosphere and headspace I was in while writing. I love ambient music so much because it can just color your surroundings a certain way and offer a new perspective to what you see, the way a film score adds so much depth to the story. “Nana (Like a Star Made for Me)” creates a world with soft waves, swelling vocals, and a hypnotic synth melody.
Radiohead, “How to Disappear Completely”
I think anytime a song moves smoothly between dissonance and resolution, I’m immediately drawn to it. This one in particular binds such a powerful relationship between those two modes. The string arrangement creates tension that builds and then disappears in certain moments to offer warmth and resolution. I’ve always loved Thom Yorke’s voice for its classical beauty and, at the same time, its strangeness.
Lanark Artefax, “Touch Absence”
This is another song I was just constantly listening to while working on the album. I think there are clear production-related influences here (break beat, ambient vocals, etc.), but perhaps more important is the trance-like feeling this song gives me. Any time I listen to it I move without thinking and close my eyes. I think there’s just an automatic switch that goes off in my brain and draws me inward. I think it’s connected to how I think about things and just feels really conducive to creating.
Sandy Denny, “Quiet Joys of Brotherhood” (Demo)
Sandy Denny has always been a huge inspiration to me. I learned some of her songs when I was young and felt drawn to her traditional Gaelic influenced vocal style. This song is another that rests on the strength of vocal performance and melody. The sparse arrangement includes a droning organ and Denny’s dirgeful vocal. I love how much power can be found in sparseness and even silence. This song is haunting and stays with me after it’s ended.
Nick Drake, “Harvest Breed”
Finally, I’ve included another of my lifelong inspirations: Nick Drake. I think there will always be elements of his influence in my writing for many reasons, one being that a big part of how I learned guitar was through learning his songs. This song has such a strange and beautiful chord progression that feels at once constant and dissonant. It’s a brief and quiet song that exudes tremendous depth: “Falling fast and falling free, I look to find a friend / Falling fast and falling free, this could just be the end / Falling fast you stoop to touch and kiss the flowers that bend / And you’re ready now for the harvest breed.”
