Not long after South London art punks Goat Girl released their self-titled debut album, Naima Bock departed the band for a change of pace -- and that's what she gives her listeners on Giant Palm. Bock wrote the songs that make up her debut album while she took a break from playing in bands, and the time she spent in meditative pursuits like studying archaeology, working as a gardener, and hiking can be heard as much as the Brazilian music she absorbed as a young girl living in Sao Paolo (a velvety interpretation of the bossa nova standard "O Morro" closes the album) and the early 20th century folk she loved in her youth (echoed in "Enter the House"'s bittersweet harmonies). When Bock recorded Giant Palm with her friends during the early days of the COVID-19 global pandemic, she didn't have any concrete plans to release it, and this lack of expectations only adds to the album's freeness. During her Goat Girl days, she was no stranger to mixing and matching genres, but the way Bock uses pop, classical, electronic, folk, and jazz elements feels more intentional and more spontaneous on songs like "Toll," which moves from pastoral flute and guitar to stately strings and brass in a confident sweep. One of the first people she shared these songs with was producer/arranger Joel Burton, who helps her express the entwined needs for solitude and belonging that make Giant Palm so genuine. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the album's stunning title track, which begins with low, droning synths that gradually lift Bock "high above it all" in a moment of perfect epiphany. Later, the memories that haunt her on "Campervan"'s violin-bedecked waltz illustrate the cost of this kind of freedom. Burton and Bock's creative chemistry gives Giant Palm's internal monologues a widescreen treatment (some songs feature more than 30 performers), and the results are particularly striking on "Every Morning," a poignant call and response between Bock and a chorus where she reflects, "It is funny how life can be when everyone leaves/Alone, but not lonely." Though she took a roundabout path to make and release Giant Palm, the way Bock shares her profound moments and little insights with a generous spirit makes for an often brilliant debut. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi

1		Giant Palm
2		Toll
3		Every Morning
4		Dim Dum
5		Working
6		Natural
7		Campervan
8		Enter the House
9		Instrumental
10		O Morro

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