SPELLLING (aka Chrystia Cabral) unveils the new single, “Alibi,” from her forthcoming album, Portrait of My Heart, out March 28th on Sacred Bones. Following the album’s lead single/title track, “a plainly universal experience made cinematically big through SPELLLING’s unforgettable voice” (The FADER), “Alibi” is a crunchy, riff-y track featuring Turnstile guitarist Pat McCrory who transformed Cabral’s original piano demo into the version that appears on the album. On “Alibi,” Cabral fearlessly draws the curtain back, discussing the way she can throw herself recklessly into intimate relationships and then cool on them just as quickly.
In Cabral’s words, “On ‘Alibi’ I’m tapping into the almost kind of comedic and hysteric relief that kicks in when you make it out of the other side of a toxic relationship. Once the spell is broken and clarity restores good sense there’s just this buoyancy to life that lets you laugh at the absurdities.” On the chorus Cabral sings: “You’re a psychopath / And I loved you for that / But I won’t take you back this time / And I don’t take it back Yeah I won’t take it back.” She cites Liz Phair as an influence for “Alibi”: “I’m a huge fan of Liz Phair and I let myself channel her very candid and penetratingly plainstated approach to lyricism. This song definitely unlocked this angsty side of myself that was very cathartic and fun to release.”
Working with a trio of producers—The Turning Wheel mixing engineer Drew Vandenberg, SZA collaborator Rob Bisel, and Yves Tumor producer Psymun, and guest musicians including Turnstile’s Pat McCrory, Chaz Bear (Toro y Moi), and Zulu’s Braxton Marcellous helped shape Portrait of My Heart. Ultimately, though, Portrait of My Heart is nobody’s record but Cabral’s. She fearlessly draws the curtain back on parts of herself that she’s never included in SPELLLING before—her feelings of being an outsider, her overly guarded nature, the way she can throw herself recklessly into intimate relationships and then cool on them just as quickly. “It’s very much an open diary of all those sensations,” she says. There’s a real generosity in that, as listeners may recognize themselves in Portrait of My Heart in a way they haven’t on past albums. It’s the sharpest, most direct SPELLLING album to date. Pre-order the album here.
