Five years after the astounding album Penelope, the latest song cycle by composer Sarah Kirkland Snider takes its inspiration from the work of writer and artist Nathaniel Bellows, depicting a childhood upbringing in Massachusetts that veers between the beautiful, haunting, and surreal, where discoveries abound. Because that’s, in reality, what it’s actually like when you’re a kid.
Much more varied musically and instrumentally than Penelope, Unremembered is just as enthralling in its musical flow as its lyrical narrative, and the way Snider guides, teases, and manipulates the listener is masterful. It’s a stunning, immensely rewarding experience, and we highly recommend you listen to the full album below.
“This is a collection of songs about childhood,” says Snider. “While writing it, I tried to immerse myself in my own memories of how it felt to be a child — where every emotion was outsized, every experience transformative, and the world seemed full of magic, mystery, danger, and things I couldn’t possibly understand.”
Unremembered will be released 4 September on New Amsterdam.