Worden Bares Her Soul on 'This Is My Hand'

The pet project of one-woman army Shara Worden, My Brightest Diamond has been out of the spotlight for several years. However, with the release of “This Is My Hand,” it’s clear that the songstress is back with a more defined sound than ever. From the moment the album’s opening snare drum line jars the senses into submission, “This Is My Hand” sports a distinct, mesmerizing sound that is both carefully constructed and spontaneous.

The lineup starts off with “Pressure,” the leading single off the release, which was accompanied by a shining, trippy, and prismatic music video. The song is catchy and surprisingly structured for an artist known for such ethereal orchestrations as 2011’s “The Sea.” The strong brass hits beginning here continue to interject with carefully balanced energy throughout the album. Also established early on is a waxing and waning pattern of intensity; Worden plays with building and removing layers of accompaniment at precisely engineered moments.

From this theatrical start, the LP progresses like a funky, modern opera. Worden’s classically styled voice directly contrasts with the modern and surreal instrumentation, but somehow the juxtaposition has the effect of emphasizing each separate part rather than supporting one at the cost of another. Still, it’s clear that although the voice and the rhythm are never at odds, Worden is always in control. Her delivery is equal parts drill sergeant and nurturing mother, a hybrid especially effective on driving-yet-cool tracks like “Before the Words” and “I Am Not the Bad Guy.” The result is a hook-filled, pulsing sound achieved without overwhelming instrumentation, maintaining creativity without becoming formulaic. It’s maximum energy for minimal orchestration.

Worden’s tight rein over her creative process surfaces as a main theme of the collection. Drawing inspiration from the world of fine art, songs explore color, shape, space, and form. Listening is like peeking into the unlocked private art studio completely absorbed in their creations. In “Pressure,” Worden gives us a run-down of the hues emanating from her musical prism: “Pink, purple, green, red, yellow, blue / I am in that mood indigo.” The album’s namesake track “This Is My Hand” is an exploration of the singer’s body through the constructive mindset of a skilled sculptor, while “Shape” captures Worden’s dreamy musings about her shape-shifting soul, swelling and fading as she declares, “You’ll never know how I may appear…You’ll never know what shape I might take, I might be the ghost or I might be hiding in smoke.”

The critically artistic eye Worden brings to the table with “This Is My Hand” is at once mature and youthfully whimsical, evidence of a creatively controlling mind with her musical ideas clearly laid out before her. The structure of the songs is ever-evolving and complex; in fact, at times the singer’s artistic vision seems to be overly dominant. Some songs are so artistically drawn-out that they come off as unfinished works, as if Worden moved on to her next great idea without defining the first. It’s a shame, because while all the songs have a strong underlying skeleton, some bare tracks are outshined by their more fleshy neighbors.

Still, her iron grip over her music comes through consistently. Her articulate, confidently composed vocals ooze control. In this surreal, operatic world of fine art set to synth-laden, calmly funky tracks, Worden is the reigning queen. Somehow, even with some individual tracks giving the listener a feeling of incompletion, the album manages to present itself as a comprehensive work. It’s a display of creativity in various forms of finality, and any more development would lessen the personal nature of the music. Its instability is no doubt far more carefully balanced than meets the ear.