Grace Cummings – Bloodhorse (Burgundy Vinyl)

Grace Cummings' Bloodhorse! is the Australian singer-songwriter's fourth album, and it arrives as a tense, theatrical set shaped around anxiety, hope, nightmares and dark humour. Reuniting her with producer Jonathan Wilson, the record was recorded in Topanga Canyon, California, where Wilson's spacious studio approach gives Cummings' songs a dense, cinematic frame without taking the spotlight from her voice.

The strongest thread here is contrast. Source material consistently describes the album moving between the gorgeous and the grotesque, the sacred and the profane, with Cummings swinging from intimate passages to explosive peaks. Strings, deep synth textures and orchestral touches broaden the sound, but the performances stay direct and human, keeping her voice firmly at the centre.

That makes Bloodhorse! feel like a clear continuation of what has made Cummings such a striking presence: narrative songwriting delivered with real force. Tracks such as "My God," reportedly recorded while she was suffering from pneumonia, suggest how physically committed these sessions were, while songs like "Paradise" and the title track point to an album interested less in polish than in emotional pressure. If you've followed her earlier records, this sounds like a bigger, darker setting for the same fearless intensity.

Features

• Burgundy Vinyl
• Produced by Jonathan Wilson
• Single jacket with inner sleeve