Once known as Throwing Shade, Nabihah Iqbal has forged a reputation as an electronic musician, DJ and in-demand collaborator, working with visual artists such as Wolfgang Tillmans and curating this year’s multidisciplinary Brighton festival. Her second album necessarily departs from the textures of her debut, 2017’s Weighing of the Heart. Deprived of her studio equipment after a burglary, followed by a family emergency in Pakistan in early 2020, Iqbal grew the sounds of Dreamer more organically, working initially on harmonium and acoustic guitar. Pre-burglary, her work nodded vigorously towards beats, electronic pop and the indie cusp, while contemplating elevated themes. Her debut considered ancient Egyptian myths around death.
Feelings of existential melancholy linger elegantly throughout Iqbal’s work, with her gossamer vocals considering grief and the ineffable. Many of the more forward-facing tracks from Dreamer remember the dancefloor (such as the excellent Gentle Heart) or feature almost post-punk beats (as on This World Couldn’t See Us, beamed in from 1983). Iqbal combines these elements with gauzy electronics, leaning into dream pop on the album opener, In Light, and the title track. Mostly, this post-genre approach works. But pure electronics are her strongest suit; you want to cheer when the housey oscillations of Sky River arrive after too much derivative wafting.
