Diamond in the rough

During the past five years, Shara Worden has made her mark with a compelling mixture of classical music training instinct and an interest in art rock, experimentalism and chamber and cabaret gaiety. 

“All Things Will Unwind,” Worden’s third record with the moniker My Brightest Diamond, is a meticulously assembled work of art. Every track is tightly edited with an exacting flow that brings out the ethereality of slinking melodies and the delicate layering of husky vocals and orchestral instrumentation. 

The eccentric chanteuse, a former touring member of Sufjan Stevens’ Illinoisemakers band and a recent collaborator with indie darlings The Decemberists, echoes the artistic sensibility of 1950s divas, tainted with a rebellious edge a la Bjork.

With closing track “I Have Never Loved Someone” — haunting yet endearing, and an apt finale to an exquisitely progressive album structure — this record gleams like a dazzling jewel under the rays of audio enlightenment.