Lattimore, Mary: Goodbye, Hotel Arkada (inkwell coloured) LP

Through evocative, emotionally resonant music, "Goodbye, Hotel Arkada", the new LP from American harpist and composer Mary Lattimore (her first proper LP of new material since 2020's "Silver Ladders", a year-end favorite of NPR, Pitchfork, and The New Yorker), speaks not just for its beloved namesake - a hotel in Croatia facing renovation - but for a universal loss that is shared. Six sprawling pieces shaped by change; nothing will ever be the same, and here, the artist, evolving in synthesis, celebrates and mourns the tragedy and beauty of the ephemeral, all that is lived and lost to time. Documented and edited in uncharacteristically measured sessions over the course of two years, the material remains rooted in improvisation while glistening as the most refined and robust in Lattimore's decade-long catalogue. It finds her communing with friends, contemporaries, and longtime influences, in full stride yet slowing down to nurture songs in new ways. The cast includes Lol Tolhurst (The Cure), Meg Baird, Rachel Goswell (Slowdive), Roy Montgomery, Samara Lubelski, and Walt McClements.