crucifera just landed on my radar with her new album “Exostential” and it’s easily one of the most interesting things I’ve come across this year.
Danielle Astraea, the mind behind this project has this way of pulling you into her world without explaining too much. The whole album leans into dark pop rock with a gothic edge, the kind that reminds me of early 2000s releases I used to loop late at night. Not in a nostalgic copy way but more like she grew up on that sound and reshaped it into something personal.
I really like how everything sounds connected even when the tracks shift rhythms and melodies. Some songs hit hard with heavy guitars and sharp electronic layers and others slow down and sit with piano or quieter sections. But nothing sounds out of place. It’s like walking through different rooms in the same strange house.
There’s also this idea running through the album that she’s turning something internal into something you can actually hear. You can sense it in tracks like the opener “Labyrinth of Fools” where the layers build up in a way that almost feels tangled.“Sugar” is direct and has this club energy. “Better?” is my favorite one and I liked the melodies and lyrics here. “Pity” lands differently. It’s rougher, more exposed, like she let the edges stay unpolished on purpose.
Her voice plays a big role in holding it all together. She moves between softer lines and louder moments without making it sound forced. I really like how she never sounds like she’s trying to impress anyone. She is an independent artist and there’s a clear sense that every detail came from her, not a team trying to shape it.
I’ve been going back to this album more than I expected. Out of everything I’ve heard in the past few months, crucifera is like one of the few artists who actually built something her own way and it stayed with me longer than most.
