Do you know the definition of the word “lotic”? In biology, the term means “inhabiting or situated in rapidly moving fresh water”. It’s a state of being that easily describes Lotic, aka J’Kerian Morgan’s, mutable, shape-shifting, polymorphic sonic experiments that refuse to be anchored to convention. Her new album, aptly-titled Water, flows endlessly from one song to the next, crystal clear yet always hinting at a hidden depth. As icy synthesisers envelop Lotic’s crackling falsetto, she embarks on a journey further into her creative essence than she ever has before.

The album’s lead single, Come Unto Me, shudders and shakes with the severity of Lotic’s masterful 2018 debut album Power – but that record’s brutality has been replaced here by a different kind of vulnerability around the themes of identity and control. As cracks of noise pierce through the track’s simple, atmospheric melodies, it’s as if Lotic beckons the listener into a fragile space previously only inhabited by her thoughts.

On Oblivious, another standout, Lotic weaves the high-pitched vocal she’s used for the entire album thus far with a lush, vibrating alto. These dual voices dancing around each other make the one of the most arresting symbols for expressing one’s gender committed to tape. By the time you reach the last song, Diamond, with its slow pulsing bass, plinking harps and otherworldly harmonies, the submersion is complete: Lotic has introduced us to an entirely new side of herself, and like the moving water, it’s purposeful, powerful and never-ending.

Cameron Cook