Heathered Pearls
Window
Self-released
Heathered Pearls wasn’t in a hurry to release Window. The album’s exquisite first single, “Soft Lock,” was shared more than seven months ago, and since then, the Polish-born Michiganite has quietly scattered a small breadcrumb trail of similarly chilled tunes, dropping each one on Bandcamp while providing nothing in the way of additional context and engaging in zero self-promotion. (And no, as much as I enjoy the videos he intermittently posts on social media—yes, the ones in which he’s holding a comically small microphone—I’m not counting those clips as self-promotion, as they’re more likely to focus on his struggles with vertigo and his thoughts on the current state of TikTok than anything to do with his own music.)
Given the lack of fanfare that preceded the album’s arrival, perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised that Window suddenly appeared in full last week, its 10 tracks accompanied by little more than A) an admission that the cover art was originally supposed to be different and B) a thank you to the artists—all of whom remain unnamed—that have influenced Heathered Pearls’ sound over the years. If his new LP is about something, he’s keeping it to himself for now, and while that’s an unusual choice in an era where the narratives around an album often generate more conversation and excitement than the actual tunes it contains, those who take the time to listen to Window will quickly realize that it’s a patently gorgeous record.
Full of shimmering textures and pillow-soft reverb, the album at times feels like a luxurious collaboration between GAS and John Beltran. Moreover, it’s an effort which revels in its patience, with Heathered Pearls repeatedly introducing beautifully crafted elements and then allowing them to gently radiate across the sparse landscapes he’s created. The beats are minimal—and on many occasions, altogether absent—but the music never stagnates, always drifting forward as though it’s being carried along by some sort of invisible current. Highlights include the aforementioned “Soft Lock,” the celestially churning “Zero Repeating,” the elegantly free-floating “Sleep Archive” and the cathedral-ready “Honey Frame,” but fixating on any one track almost feels counterproductive. Window is a warm and immersive album, and by refusing to share all of its secrets right off the bat, Heathered Pearls has—intentionally or not—sent a message that properly experiencing the record requires not only shutting out the noise of the outside world, but fully submerging oneself its warm and restorative waters.