Land of Talk's 'LASTS' Is a Patient, Expansive Masterpiece of Repetition
Land of Talk is still here, which was never guaranteed. Across twenty years Lizzie Powell has drifted away from the project and back again, and after 2023’s Performances they were, by their own account, worn down by the industry and preoccupied with their parents’ health. The songs arrived anyway — in traffic, in birds, in a neighbour’s daily prayers. “Life can become so unbearable,” Powell explains, “and music is where I go to metabolize it.”
The Sonic Breakdown
The Production & Mix
The Low-End: Exclaim! counted six of these eight songs running past four minutes, and the length is the argument. A refrain comes back, and comes back, and the band declines to escalate underneath it — no extra drum fill, no doubled chord, nothing to signal that the moment has been upgraded. The groove simply keeps its footing until the words have been worn smooth.
The Spatial Dynamics: Paste heard “dreamy, pedal-steel textures,” which is the register: wide and unhurried, with Powell’s vocal set forward of all of it. Exclaim! described “Dogs” as a sedated Kim Gordon track with a catchier chorus, a useful shorthand for how much this band can carry at low effort.
Standout Performance
Powell, as a writer with the nerve to leave a line alone. “Saffron” and “Cedars” both reach a point where a less patient record would add something, and the restraint is what makes the last minute of each land.
Why It’s Certified
Exclaim!, scoring it an 8: “The songwriting is their career’s best, delivering a more expansive version of their classic sound.” The same review: “Each song is its own world, exploring different sounds and textures while always feeling like Land of Talk.” Paste singled out Powell’s “honeyed vocals” across material taking in climate change, political upheaval and illness at home. Closer “Lasts” stacks sound until the song should buckle and instead keeps its composure — which is the whole record in one gesture.