‘Thought I would sense that your love was a curse, I kept repeating “It could be worse”, You touch my body like it’s in a hearse, Museum glass ’round a heart set to burst’ (Museum Glass)

Strange Devotion is the second solo album from singer-songwriter Maura Weaver, who first emerged with Cincinatti pop punks Mixtapes, and the follow-up to 2023’s I Was Due For A Heartbreak.  And it continues to see Weaver lace her indie punk inclinations with a jangly yet tantalisingly bittersweet pop sensibility.

As you might anticipate, it is Weaver’s vocals that form the album’s beating heart.  Richly melodic yet also characterfully layered, they deftly see-saw between the tender and the steel of quiet resolution.  They astutely draw on the darkly surrealist imagery of David Lynch’s films to colour a deeply personal narrative that evokes her determination not to allow adversity to overwhelm her life.

However, this is not to underplay the power of the wider songwriting.  Working closely with her longtime collaborator John Hoffmann (of fellow Cincinnati bands, Beef and Vacation), Weaver’s deftly crafted compositions assuredly work their way under the skin.  The warm fuzz of the guitar and crisply understated percussion are enriched with the distinctive twang of the slide guitar together with flares of swirling viola and skronking synths.  Personal highlights include the woozy morphing of Do Nothing, the haunting reflections of the rather beautiful Museum Glass, and the catchily layered Breakfast.