Whole World As Vigil, the album from Lauren Auder, opens with a proclamation. “Let greed in,” Auder declares. It’s an invitation to what can happen when you embrace life in all of its euphoria, desperation and endless possibility. While 2023 debut the infinite spine explored Auder coming to terms with her own identity, here the world is showcased by another set of fresh eyes: inspired by a romantic relationship, the songs bottle up not only the electrifying sheen of being in love, but what it then forces you to examine and consider.

While Auder’s prior music has often been informed by studio collaborations, here she deliberately pared back, working mostly on laptops alongside long-term creative partners dviance and Alex Parish between Paris and London. Most tracks were initially recorded acapella as voice notes on walks around London before laying down any instrumentation. Sonically, Whole World As Vigil sits comfortably amongst contemporary art pop while sharing a spiritual connection with the emo music of her childhood, a genre known for its “sheer intensity and immediacy and ability to treat one’s own personal turmoil and joy simultaneously.” There’s a physicality that has always been deeply embedded in Auder’s music, and this visceral emotion is in every corner of the new record: the tracks feel bigger, the production more bombastic and the overarching sentiment filled with greater urgency than ever.