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Photo by Rogue Bonaventura

Singer-songwriter Beatrix is taking listeners on a winding and whimsical sonic journey with sophomore album We Swallowed The Sky. 

The project sees Arielle Kasnetz, who goes by the moniker Beatrix, reflecting on the ghosts of a past relationship, swinging from grief and anger, to acceptance of the past. The album’s thesis can be summed up best with a line from the title track: “I didn’t know you // I never will.” Beatrix is comfortable with that unease as she looks back on how things ended. 

While she does her share of angry kiss-offs (“You’d rather hear me cry // it’s harder to let it die,” she sings on “Dead Dog”), the artist is at her best when she embraces rose-colored nostalgia. 

Standout “Hole To China” is a sweet ode to a relationship that has spanned years, going back to childhood escapades — “We’re digging up the yard // a hole to China, but we’ll never get that far” — but ultimately ends with a parting. “By the way, all of my dreams came true,” Beatrix declares. “But not the one that I had with you.”

“Upstate” follows that pattern, using twangy guitars and pedal steel to soundtrack Beatrix’s address to a long-ago lover: “Heard you’re going gray // but you got the same old smile,” she sings. “Did you make the grade? // did you graduate?”

She ends on a hopeful note with “Bird Song”, telling her wayward partner, “And when you’ve turned every stone // you can always come home.”

We Swallowed The Sky’s production has a hazy quality to it, bringing to mind the dark whimsy of a Tim Burton movie. The songs move quickly from soft piano ballads, to full-throated rock choruses, and Beatrix handles both with a deft hand. 

Beatrix’s We Swallowed The Sky is a beautiful look back at a past relationship, balancing both the good and bad with the knowledge that you’ll always take the memories with you.

Listen to We Swallowed The Sky below: