Heather Maloney – Exploding Star (Signature Sounds) (13th Floor Album Review)

Heather Maloney‘s latest album, Exploding Star, is a masterclass in intimate and evocative storytelling, wrapped in rich, modern folk soundscapes.

Her introspective songwriting and folk stylings have been present since her 2011 debut Time and Pocket Change, and her subsequent albums have explored a broader musical palette, culminating in 2019’s Soil in the Sky. Now, after a six-year gap between albums marked by personal loss, Maloney returns with an album deeply rooted in grief, memory, and the search for meaning.

Following the death of her father in 2021, Maloney revisited her childhood home and began writing as a personal way to reflect on her emotions. This setting became an integral part of Exploding Star, influencing both its lyrics and production. With Don Mitchell as producer, and collaborators High Tea (Isabella Dehardt on guitar and backing vocals, Issac Eliot on percussion and backing vocals), as well as Reed Sutherland (bass, piano), the album was recorded in her family home. The lo-fi production enhances the intimacy, incorporating ambient sounds from the house and garden to create an immersive listening experience.

The album opens with Labyrinth in the Weeds, a metaphorical exploration of life’s complexities based on the grass being cut at the family home. The track begins with Maloney’s humming, setting an intimate, almost meditative tone. Lyrically, she searches for clarity both externally as a child—”in the weeds”—and internally as an adult —”inside of me.” The hushed, lo-fi textures combined with subtle drones and harmonies from High Tea draw the listener into this introspective journey.

Heather Maloney

The title track, Exploding Star, shifts the perspective from the backyard to the cosmos, blending existential reflection with personal grief. “Are you floating in the cosmos, finally free from time / while I’m down here on the highway looking for signs?” she sings, contrasting the vast, infinite universe with the mundane reality of human loss. This tension between the celestial and the everyday runs throughout the album, making the songs profound and relatable.

Musically, Maloney’s guitar provides the rhythmic foundation, her playing shifting dynamically to mirror the emotional arcs of each song. She blends strummed chord progressions, delicate fingerpicking, and subtle percussive elements to create a modern folk sound reminiscent of Iron & Wine, Big Thief, or Anaïs Mitchell. Electric guitar, drones, and expressive percussion give tracks added weight, while the vocal harmonies from High Tea intensify the emotional impact of the lyrics.

Her cover of Duran Duran‘s Ordinary World is a striking inclusion. Simon  Le Bon’s original lyrics reflect on the impact of the death of a friend, and Maloney performs it as a haunting meditation on her personal grief. Her raw, expressive vocals bring out its emotional core, making it one of the album’s most affecting moments.

In Light You Leave Behind, Maloney contemplates memory and legacy, using light as a metaphor for enduring presence: “The light you leave behind, burning across the sky, burned into my mind.” The song’s gentle instrumentation and subtle harmonies reinforce its theme of reflection and remembrance.

The album balances introspection with livelier moments, such as Oh My Green, where a percussive strumming pattern builds towards an emotional crescendo. The song’s upbeat energy contrasts with its existential questioning, demonstrating Maloney’s ability to blend rhythmic drive with lyrical depth.

Familiar Face and Angelfish showcase Maloney‘s lyrical finesse and ability to forge deep, personal connections through music. The former features intimate vocals, while the latter adopts a reflective mood with high-pitched strings adding an ethereal quality.

The Boston Globe once described Maloney‘s voice as her “not-so-secret weapon,” and that holds true here. She moves effortlessly between delicate whispers and soaring crescendos, infusing each song with emotion and nuance, and reminding us of Joni Mitchell.

Overall, Exploding Star is a poignant and powerful album that affirms Heather Maloney‘s place in contemporary music. The songs blend the raw emotion of the lyrics with meticulous musicianship, drawing from both personal experience and universal themes of love, loss, and the search for meaning. Inspired by grief but filled with life, this album is both a cathartic personal expression and a deeply universally resonant listening experience.

John Bradbury

Heather Maloney’s Exploding Star is released Friday, January 31st on Signature Sounds Recordings