Luster (album)

Succeeding Somerville's 2019 debut project, All My People, Luster consists of twelve songs with a total runtime of thirty-eight minutes and twenty seconds. The album incorporates elements of shoegaze, post-punk, and ambient music, and centers on the theme of homecoming. Somerville wrote and recorded the album in Connemara.{{Cite web |last=Garvey |first=Meaghan |date=25 April 2025 |title=Maria Somerville: Luster |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/maria-somerville-luster/ |access-date=26 April 2025 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}

"Projections" was released as the album's first single on 30 September 2024.{{Cite web |last=Breihan |first=Tom |date=30 September 2024 |title=Maria Somerville Shares New Song "Projections": Listen |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2282446/maria-somerville-projections/music/ |access-date=26 April 2025 |website=Stereogum |language=en}} It was followed by the release of the second single, "Garden", on 19 February 2025.{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Abby |date=19 February 2025 |title=Maria Somerville Shares "Garden" From New Album Luster: Listen |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2297251/maria-somerville-garden/music/ |access-date=26 April 2025 |website=Stereogum |language=en}} The third single, "Spring", was released on 23 April 2025.{{Cite web |last=Kelly |first=Tyler |date=23 April 2025 |title=Maria Somerville unveils final album preview, "Spring" |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/maria-somerville-unveils-final-album-preview-spring |access-date=26 April 2025 |website=The Line of Best Fit |language=en-US}}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev2 = The Guardian

| rev2score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev3 = New Noise

| rev3score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev4 = Hot Press

| rev4score = {{Rating|8|10}}

| rev5 = The Skinny

| rev5score = {{Rating|4|5}}

}}

Paul Simpson of AllMusic described the album as "an accomplished, affecting work that finds strength and clarity through introspection and forgiveness." Shaad D'Souza of the Guardian wrote in his review of Luster, "these songs reveal themselves to be unusually swollen with texture and detail: harps twinkle like broken glass and baggy breakbeats reverberate widely, seemingly recorded through a bedroom wall."{{Cite news |last=D'Souza |first=Shaad |date=25 April 2025 |title=Maria Somerville: Luster review – a vivid and vital entry in the shoegaze revival |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/apr/25/maria-somerville-luster-review-4ad-shoegaze-second-album |access-date=26 April 2025 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

Pitchfork rated the album 8.5 out of ten and stated, "The Irish musician's gossamer dream pop is both mythic and real, a wild and ancient landscape in which her own figure is just barely perceptible." New Noise remarked, "Luster's strength lies in its ability to explain the unexplainable; to emphasize a feeling only one's heart is able to comprehend—without words and without regret", and rated the album four out of five.{{Cite web |last=Ortega |first=Oscar |date=25 April 2025 |title=Album Review: Maria Somerville – Luster |url=https://newnoisemagazine.com/reviews/album-review-maria-somerville-luster/ |access-date=26 April 2025 |website=New Noise |language=en-US}}

Hot Press assigned the album a rating of eight out of ten, calling it "a terrific album from an artist of genuine substance."{{Cite web |last=Russell |first=Will |date=25 April 2025 |title=Album Review: Maria Somerville, Luster |url=https://www.hotpress.com/music/album-review-maria-somerville-luster-23082404 |access-date=26 April 2025 |website=Hot Press}} The Skinny gave Luster a rating of four stars out of five, noting that "On her 4AD debut, Maria Somerville redefines dreampop, goth, shoegaze and more, stitching colour into a tapestry of blacks, whites and greys."{{Cite web |last=Inglis |first=Tony |date=21 April 2025 |title=Maria Somerville album review: Luster |url=https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/reviews/albums/maria-somerville-luster |access-date=26 April 2025 |website=The Skinny |language=en}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Luster track listing

| total_length = 38:20

| title1 = Réalt

| length1 = 1:52

| title2 = Projections

| length2 = 3:40

| title3 = Garden

| length3 = 4:03

| title4 = Corrib

| length4 = 2:01

| title5 = Halo

| length5 = 3:49

| title6 = Spring

| length6 = 3:34

| title7 = Stonefly

| length7 = 3:37

| title8 = Flutter

| length8 = 1:30

| title9 = Trip

| length9 = 2:46

| title10 = Violet

| length10 = 3:43

| title11 = Up

| length11 = 3:58

| title12 = October Moon

| length12 = 3:47

}}

{{Reflist}}

Category:2025 albums

Category:4AD albums

Category:Shoegaze albums by Irish artists

Category:Folk albums by Irish artists

Category:Dream pop albums by Irish artists