Lucrecia Dalt’s A Danger to Ourselves is a fearless reflection on the unfiltered complexities of human connection. Stripping away fictional narratives present on the artist’s last several album endeavors, A Danger to Ourselves arrives from a place of emotional sincerity. Sonically unraveling like a deeply personal conversation,Dalt’s voice is foregrounded and formidable, supported by a lush array of acoustic orchestration and processing, collaged percussive patterns, and an esteemed cast of collaborators.
Dalt, born in Pereira, Colombia, was raised in a family of music enthusiasts who encouraged her to pick up a guitar when she was nine. Dalt followed this creative impulse, becoming fascinated with computer-based production and left a burgeoning career as a civil engineer, moving from Medellín to Barcelona and ultimately Berlin, where she developed her distinctive, adventurous sound. Her work has spun into increasingly accomplished terrains with Anticlines (2018) and No era sólida (2020), and notably, ¡Ay!, Dalt’s 2022 breakthrough sci-fi bolero album. Along the way, Dalt expanded her practice into original scoring for television, HBO’s The Baby (2022) series, and films like On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (2024) and the forthcoming psychological horror Rabbit Trap (2025), while creating sound installations and performances that showcase her luminous modulations and distinctive, evolving vocal approach.
A Danger to Ourselves emerged from fragmentary declarations Dalt scribbled while navigating life on tour for ¡Ay!, and the formative moments of a new relationship. She began crystallizing these intimate fragments into musical compositions in January 2024, giving gradual form to a purposeful constellation of songs. The album’s sonic architecture builds upon dynamic drum loops provided by collaborator Alex Lázaro, whose percussive backbone, as on ¡Ay!, became a canvas for Dalt’s layered vocals. Rather than following conventional melodic structures, the album generates musicality through the interplay of bass lines, rhythms, and compositional design. A Danger to Ourselves reveals Dalt’s uncompromising quest for sonic clarity where bold production choices and meticulous recording techniques encourage both voice and instrument to harmonize with newfound depth and radiance.
