Francine Thirteen – Psalm of Tiamat

Description

“Glory to my maker…”

The first words sung by Francine Thirteen on her Psalm of Tiamat EP (FPE Records, September 6) are an invocation, and a statement of purpose. Seven years on from her first album, Lust Heals, Give Me My Sin Again, which Afropunk called a “numinous world of existential wonder”, comes this new treatise on the continuation of blood, seed and mind through countless generations, a vision of the divine essence of feminine humanity.

Here, sacred beings commingle with Francine’s direct ancestry, revealing advanced wisdom encoded in every note and word. “Angels and demons, outta her womb”, she sings on “Emma”, an ode to her Great Grandmother – a Scorpio with an uncanny ability to read the stars. Lead single “Black Doves of Dodona” concerns a lineage of women known as the Sibyls, women who brought down the messages of the ancient Mother Goddesses, embodied in the singular by Tiamat, who Herself is presently channeled through Francine: “I am no man’s Daughter… Very soon I’ll shed my skin.”

Throughout, sumptuous production by Orbit Sound is a gently surprising, rippling stream. Texture shifts subtly. The body tingles. Sonic and structural elements drawn from diverse genres are woven together like a textile. Art is always, in some way, a foray into the unknown, but Francine’s art does more than simply explore: it maps the territory, finding new routes between occult zones and subconscious spiritual awareness. And it’s a gorgeous listening experience.

Psalm of Tiamat will be available in digital format from FPE Records September 6, 2024.