Empty Me
by Gabi

From MadhattanJack 02/12/2026 03:04 | #313108

On the surface, the second album by Gabrielle "GABI" Herbst is a lot like the first one — pretty, not-quite-experimental-but-close neo-classical vocal pieces with sparse accompaniment, mostly just piano, unobtrusive electronics, and occasional bass and woodwinds. Once you get beneath the surface though, everything changes, because people will point and laugh at you for having your head sandwiched between a GABI album and your tabletop (or desktop, if you're listening on a computer). I have to say I like this album better than her first one; it's more contemplative, but there's just more feeling to it, more of what music critics like to call "emotional resonance" because music critics are mostly idiots. GABI describes her own work as "Opera Pop," which is misleading because operas usually have librettos that are the basis of understandable lyrics and a cohesive story line, and "pop" music is usually very snappy and bouncy and involves people like Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Madonna, and Boy George. This album has none of that, at least not recognizably, and it's all the better for it. Comparison-wise, if you like some of Sarah MacLachlan's or Kate Bush's later work (and not their earlier work), you might like this too. I'm not an expert in what you might like, though. Frankly, your personal aesthetic sensibilities are a complete mystery to me, and that's exactly how I like it.