ALBUM REVIEW: On ‘Dressing Like a Stranger,’ Luke Sital-Singh Embraces Being Yourself
Laura Stanley
Posted On September 1, 2022
Have you ever looked in the mirror and not recognized yourself? Does the question “Who am I?” make you dizzy with panic? This uncertainty and the coupled loneliness are what Luke Sital-Singh is processing on his latest album, his fourth, Dressing Like a Stranger.
Susurrous folk-rock acts as the ideal backdrop for the frazzled state of mind that Sital-Singh is in across much of the record. To begin, he wonders in the title track if his move to LA — he’s originally from the UK — has changed him. If you have ever bleached your hair in an attempt to become a new person, this song will hit particularly close. On the same track, he touches on his spiritual uncertainties, singing, “if there’s a God, I hope she’s grinning like a child sweetly singing,” and on the album highlight “Me & God,” Sital-Singh confronts his faith directly. It’s a moving and hushed song that sparkles with Sital-Singh’s honesty.
The thing is, as Sital-Singh comes to terms with, you’re always going to be you. Changing your style, moving to a different city, or adopting (or leaving behind) a belief system won’t make you into a different person no matter how much you want it to. But it’s okay, because one of the best things you can do is to be yourself. For Sital-Singh, his marriage is a calming place where he can be exactly who he is. “Rather Be,” a duet with Christina Perri, finds Sital-Singh at peace, finally, in the arms of his love and he reaches a humble conclusion on “All Night Stand:” “I’m a lucky man.”
Dressing Like a Stranger has steep emotional ups and downs but doesn’t leave you weary or feeling hopeless. These songs are soothing because Sital-Singh handles his uncertainties with grace and gentleness. The last line of “Summer Somewhere” is one of the album’s most comforting: “Look around, babe, you’re not the only one scared.”
Luke Sital-Singh’s Dressing Like a Stranger is out Sept. 2 via Nettwerk.
