Meet Mary Magdalen by The Disposable Lighters

Alone, overwhelmed, and disconnected from community, reactions to current events spiral out of control, losing lucidity over time. Singer-songwriter experimentalist The Disposable Lighters conduct a character study about this process on their new record Meet Mary Magdalen, a lo-if stream of consciousness that picks up steam just as it continuously derails. Early moments on the record bring rousing speeches about indoctrination, hate, and the disregard for human life, before the lyrics take a turn for the abstract and esoteric. Song structures slow over time, letting in space for air to introduce a sense of grandiosity, increasing their emotional gravity as the album hits its final fifteen minute epic of a closer. Finally, we’re left with the words “I have come to no conclusion,” an admission of confusion amidst a deluge of content and information. As a largely DIY singer-songwriter tape, this album carries an air of loneliness that draws attention to the increasingly unhinged pontifications, showing us how the mind spirals in the absense of others to share its thoughts and anxieties with.