Gorgeous. I am unable to more succinctly sum up And In the Darkness, Hearts Aglow, the fifth album from Natalie Mering, aka Weyes Blood. Arrangements, vocals, harmonies, it's all simply stunning. Released November 18, the spellbinding mood, somewhere between a winter dreamland and a hymnal, is perfect for this time of year. 

Mering's previous effort Titanic Rising was featured here and my then description of her sounding ""right at home alongside contemporaries like Father John Misty or Sharon Van Etten"" with ""shades of Beach Boys melodic themes, or early 70s Southern California songwriting"" is fully applicable here. That 2019 release was apparently part one of a trilogy with And In the Darkness, Hearts Aglow representing the second installment. God help me whenever the final entry arrives because this one lands a notch above Titanic and is nearly assured a place in my top ten of 2022.