Natalie Prass’ second album takes inspiration from classic pop songwriting while imagining a new future. Though grounded in the warm-bath soul of the Seventies and slick pop of the Eighties, the Cleveland native and producer/childhood pal Matthew E. White give the tracks an electronic gleam and rhythm-focused arrangements, letting her breathy soprano soar. Soulful single “Short Court Style” makes the strongest case for her vision, though the sultry “The Fire” and reticular “Ship Go Down” demonstrate a delightfully diverse range. If the midpoint between The Future and the Past is modernity, Natalie Prass nails it. (Noon, American Express stage)

***.5

This article appears in October 12 • 2018.

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Michael Toland started writing about music in 1988 on the Gulf Coast, moved to Austin in early 1991, and has inflicted bylines upon the corporeal and digital pages of Pop Culture Press, The Big Takeover, Blurt, Amplifier, Austin.citysearch, the Austin American Statesman, Goldmine, Sleazegrinder, Rock & Roll Globe, High Bias, FHT Music Notes, and, since 2011, The Austin Chronicle.