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Photo by Jeff Anderson Jr.

Grace Cummings’ fourth album, Bloodhorse!, is a dramatic, daring collection of songs that blend rock and classical music, topped with lyrics that explore the artist’s hopes and fears about life, love, and moving on.  

“In the past few years I’ve gone through one of the biggest personal changes of my life,” Cummings said in a statement about the project. “Bloodhorse! is an attempt to express the things I can't say. A confession, an act of courage. For no one else but me. And it’s me deciding to represent, not necessarily the way life is, but the way it feels.”

The tracks represent some of Cummings’ more tumultuous feelings, from the goth-rock orchestra that soundtracks album opener “The Hill Are Alive With The Sound Of Morphine,” to the woozy, laidback guitar line of “Paradise,” which sees her shrug off visions of Eden — “I’ve seen it once,” she says of paradise, adding, “And heaven is a place I’ve been // just yesterday.”

Bloodhorse! can feel almost like the score of a theatrical show — which is all by Cummings’ design. 

“Theater seems like an escape, but it’s not at all — it’s about everything real,” she explained. “I don’t want to show the feeling, I want to try to give the feeling. So it being over the top makes so much sense to me. You show this grand thing to access the feeling. And deciding to represent not just the way it is, but the way it feels.”

Cummings’ vocals are what take these songs over the top, by turns soft and pleading (“I love you baby, it’s just been a hard week,” she croons on “I’m Not Crazy”), and Janis Joplin-esque growls (“FAKE,” “WITCH! WITCH! WITCH!”). 

“Someone described it as me wearing a bunch of different masks,” Cummings explained. “But I disagree — I think it’s the sound of when I take the mask off. That’s why I wanted it to feel passionate and huge — like an insane, twisted, grotesque, fantastical, magical, majestic, horrendous, painful and surreal place. I know all these things. Sinead O’Connor once said, the only reason a person should sing or make a record is because they’ll go mad if they don't. That’s how I experience the world.”

Bloodhorse! captures Cummings’ fear of stagnation, full of lyrics that urge her (and her listeners) to keep moving, no matter what — or who — you leave behind. This feeling is perfectly expressed in closing track “See You in Fifty Years,” where Cummings waves goodbye to a loved one, but leaves the door open for another meeting. 

“I’ll see you again maybe in 50 years // in the year 2075,” she tosses out, repeating her promise a few lines later: “I’ll see where you’re at in 50 years // see what kind of people we’ve become.”

With Bloodhorse!, Cummings creates a completely new kind of sound, blending genres and emotions for a project that will transfix and transport you into Cummings’ lush and lyrical world. 

Listen to Bloodhorse! below: