The Loreleis from the University of North Carolina rarely decide to rest on their laurels with their musical output. Like many of the other powerhouse upper-voiced collegiate groups, they have a lineage of recorded excellence that reaches back to the years when the current crop of singers' parents were in Chapel Hill (remember I'm on year 37 of listening to these women). A Crowded Room continues the pedigree with stellar musicianship, excellent studio production, supple arrangements, and sophisticated soloists. I thought about a litany of superstars from the group from years past trying to come up with a supergroup of performers and my favorite generations and iterations to see how the current crop of performers fare. And they fare well. The group is top tier of a group that's already top tier.

Interestingly enough, I wasn't sure what I was going to think of the whole album by listening to the opening track; it seemed like a surprisingly subdued way to open the album. Oooh, it's going to be a sleepytime journey. It wasn't until I listened to the closing track Woman x Motive that it all clicked and it seems like there was no other song on the planet that could have opened this thematically-driven album.

It's easy to believe that the group is in its Sexy Villain era. The songs that are sultry and subtle with a sly bit of sassiness and sheen is completely in their wheelhouse. BRKN nearly broke me. I wasn't prepared as it's not a song that I was familiar with before listening to the album ... and I'll be damned if this track doesn't rock you to your core upon first, fifth, or fiftieth listen. And the pairing of Cross My Mind with Sexy Villain is so smooth it should be criminal. Ellis Riggsbee is a phenomenal arranger. She penned those two songs within an inch of their lives and what a revelation it was. And then there's Cho Nikoi who does such damage on the soul with the aforementioned BRKN (possibly my favorite song on the album), the dangerous Woman x Motive, and the most amazing accomplishment that is Remember: a song that utilizes every voice in the group as a soloist with seamless execution.

And let's not overlook the fact that they've included an original song in the track list; you'd be hard-pressed to figure out which one it is if you weren't familiar with the entire repertoire. Growing Old is written by member and soloist Natalie Barth and arranged by Marie McCoy. I'm not a Swiftie at all, but if I were to use the title as a superlative, this is no better comparison to the quality of the song.

There are only two faults that I have with the album. Even though the sound production by Pablo Vega, Nick Lyons, Jill Clark, and Bill Hare is top-notch, at some point in time the decision was made to have a more atmospheric soundscape in the background versus a more musical one. There is more air to the backing vocals (and soloists) than there is sound at times. Usually, this is my jam, but for some reason, I'm missing the more rounded tones. And the fact that the two non-sultry songs on the album don't live up to the greatness of the rest of the tracks. Though I don't think anyone will ever surpass the USC Sirens' version of As off the 2002 album gasp, the Las' version sits in the sweet just enough to make it good. Where the Sirens are the epitome of "funking graveled-groove" bodaciousness, the Las take on a much more subdued approach with just a hint of country silkiness to the mix. And Can't Fight This Feeling is very Glee-esque, and I loved Glee for all its glee-ness, but something here just doesn't work with the rest of the songs around it. On anyone else's album it may be the best track, but it just falters a tad bit here.

To pull from Sexy Villain, the Loreleis are "doing it right" on so many levels with their latest release A Crowded Room.

I love that the Loreleis don't try to be something they're not. On A Crowded Room, they settle in deeply to their sultry, mid-tempo moody sound that has served them well on the past few releases RARB has reviewed.

The capstone track here is Remember, whose soft lilting tone sits in a beautiful groove. No exaggeration, I could listen to a 20-minute version of this song and would love every second of it — a bold statement, since there's so much about this arrangement that, on paper, could be disastrous. According to the group, "every member of the group sings a solo" — a patchwork that usually sounds disjointed and haphazard. There aren't any huge dynamics here, and that kind of narrow range often makes songs drag and falter. But here, Cho Nikoi's arrangement just works, perhaps because of the variation in lead vocals and because of the gentle sway; the small microdynamics pull at listeners' ears more like an unexpected undertow than a surging tidal wave.

Throughout A Crowded Room, the Loreleis lean into songs that fit their sound and vibe. Can't Fight This Feeling and BRKN both shine (again, shout-out to Cho Nikoi's sharp arrangements), and original song Growing Old showcases Natalie Barth's writing and striking solo.

The only downside to such a consistent sound is that it can start to blur together after a while. (Sexy Villain, in particular, sounds great on its own but makes the album feel like it's dragging just based on its placement in the tracklist). Even with a few moments of repetition, the Loreleis prove once again that they know exactly who they are and how to play to their strengths. A Crowded Room is another confident, compelling step forward in their catalog.

It's been a while since we've had a full release from the Loreleis. In a modern era where so many albums are half-length EPs (including the last release from this group), it's exciting to hear the full extent of a group's capabilities. This album left me constantly bouncing between two thoughts: either "that was a cool moment" or "what was I listening to again?". This album has some great moments, but the underlying framework of most tracks leaves a lot to be desired.

Let's look at BRKN to see what I mean. This track has very minimal backgrounds. The chords are great, but everything moves in a very blocky format, meaning that all voice parts move together most times in a sense of monophony. In small pieces, it can be very beneficial; if we can't get rhythmic intrigue, dynamic intrigue is the next best thing. This piece lives or dies in the microdynamics of each phrase. Swells and decays do so much to create an ebb and flow, like an ocean tide or breathing. We get that for the first few phrases, but eventually that fades away and we just get a lot of mezzo-piano dynamics for most of the piece. Cho Nikoi's solo is incredibly soulful and powerful, but there is so little support from all the backgrounds that we get nothing to help propel this piece or keep it interesting. There is always a fear of having too much going on in the background that the soloist is drowned out. Unfortunately, a lack of intrigue is just as detrimental.

Not My Job shows everything when all the pieces fall into place. Ellis Riggsbee's arrangement constantly has little moving pieces. There are forced cuts to fully accent the soloist, but also a constant rhythmic groove to keep everything moving. The bassline isn't something that is normally so prominent in a treble-voiced arrangement, but I'm really loving it. All the parts just move so well to provide a framework to let the soloist tell the story. And instead of one, we get three in Madeline Nguyen, Annah Ndirangu, and Abigail Paquin. This piece is just slick and fun, and checks all the boxes for a good recording.

And then we get to Growing Old. I first found this piece probably about a week before I started listening to this album just from the random Spotify streaming algorithm, and was immediately hooked. It's just so polished and clean and all the pieces fit together so well, so imagine my shock when I saw that it was an original piece written by member Natalie Barth and arranged by Marie McCoy. Barth's solo is just pure raw emotion. However, more important than the soloist is just how well the entire group supports them. It's a group of many collectively supporting and telling the story of one person. The microdynamics and the intrigue is interwoven in a musical tapestry and just so well done.

One of the most amusing things I found as I was reviewing this album is the discrepancy between the scoring and my words about why. This score is buoyed by the individual elements and stymied by a few large flaws. The soloists are strong. The production is fantastic and the album sounds clean. However, there are some blemishes below that polished surface. If the Loreleis can figure out how to fix those issues, this group can fully shine.