Sylvi Alli uses her deep, resonant voice as a vessel in her new appropriately titled release. It echoes in the the opening song 'Conduit', chatters in the witchy 'Arbor Sea,' and soars in 'Gyre.' The vocal spell summoning continues in 'Incant' and the harrowing 'Hex.' At times, Alli sounds like Lisa Gerrard (particularly in the Eastern-flavored track 'Through The Veil', others, Diamanda Galas, but there's a calm intensity to her singing that's all her own. The backing tracks, mostly self-performed--layers of loops, guitars, keyboards, rhythm--put her vocals front and center. The closing later tracks, 'Tyger' and 'By Fire,' feature an instrumental complexity that alludes to Alli's training as a classical pianist. 'Vessel' is a must have for lovers of dark, ethereal music. Every track bewitches.

-Craig Laurance Gidney