The word ethereal gets thrown around a lot these days, but it does not belong to Jareth. Emotionally capable: yes, but fragile: absolutely not. The powerful, moving vocalist is at last here with an electronically-endowed exhibition of her immense voice at length. Moonchild is an intense, anthemic, and vibe-inviting composition of deep layered production and clean, pristine vocals. It is, in every sense of the word, paean and brings with it a new order of electronic vocalism. Though just her debut project, Jareth with Moonchild is one of the more steady and mature artists we’ve been introduced to this year. 

 

Defined first and foremost by the ease with which she maneuvers her range, and secondly by the way she so seamlessly weaves in and out of the balanced shifts in her production, something about her sound is reminiscent of a hypothetical middle ground between FC Kahuna’s work with Hafdís Hold and Phil Beadreau’s 2014 Ether. That is to say, Moonchild is well-written, well-spoken, and well-produced – a trifecta of balanced necessity so rarely achieved in the complex spectrum of vocals and modern production techniques.

 

Her soulful, stirring voice meets equally the thoughtful though in no way casual string of production, occasionally superseding her background with emotional explosions, worthy exhibitions of her dynamic range. In fact, intense emotional exhibitions are a constant through Moonchild’s runtime. With a heartbrokenly understated delivery, Jareth pleas without ever breaking stride; plies without ever breaking down; plays while constantly breaking ground. Jareth is innovative.

 

She is also additive. Placing her own spin on the modern movement towards a blended sphere of electronica and neo-soul could not have been a simple task. Competition runs deep with talented vocalists meeting a dynamic sphere of global producers, turning the confluent spectrum of past genre into one of the most popular in modern music. And yet, at the moment Jareth is incomparable to anyone else. 

 

And she has been since she first released Kaleidoscope six months ago. It’s included in the project along with both of her other originals in the time since – Bit by Bit, Caution Me – and met by the addition of two new tracks, Rings Of Saturn and a titular opener. Together, the five tracks come to form a wide-ranging debut that never strays too far from itself – from Jareth’s naturally centered bread and butter: emotionally stirring, electronically-subtle, vocally-mature, and boldly unique. 

 

Moonchild is the paean, poignant, and at times simply dark debut project needed not only to introduce Jareth with her previously indefinable texture, but also to welcome that texture into the fold of modern music and its future.