Nandi Rose Plunkett’s singing is deliberate. Her voice moves slowly, with seeming ease, as if each line is a response in real time, never rushed but carefully thought out and confident. The music Plunkett makes under the Half Waif moniker is equally precise, particularly on the group’s latest album, Lavender. Though often meditative in its ambience and melodic complexities, Half Waif flexes a knowledge of pop that brings the music to sweeping highs. Throughout, Plunkett contemplates womanhood and the distance accompanied by travel, perhaps best summarized in the opening track’s description of a visit with her grandmother. Both musically and lyrically, Lavender makes for a thoroughly engaging and ambitious addition to the Half Waif catalog. – Cameron Carr
