Spellling - Portrait of My Heart

On Portrait of My Heart, Chrystia Cabral’s fourth album as SPELLLING, the Bay Area artist shifts her avant-pop vision inward, turning the project into a bold reflection of self. Trading the allegory and mysticism of earlier work for emotional clarity, Cabral explores love, anxiety, intimacy, and alienation with unflinching honesty. It’s her most direct and sonically immediate record to date—raw, vibrant, and deeply human.

While The Turning Wheel shimmered with elaborate orchestration and theatrical grandeur, Portrait of My Heart feels stripped back and alive, driven by a core band of Wyatt Overson (guitar), Patrick Shelley (drums), and Giulio Xavier Cetto (bass). Working collaboratively for the first time, Cabral discovered new textures and momentum, channelling more rock-oriented energy while maintaining her signature sonic palette.

The title track sets the tone—an urgent, pulsing anthem with a chorus that admits, “I don’t belong here.” Written as a way to process performance anxiety, the song captures the essence of the album: confessional, cathartic, and boldly unguarded. Though Cabral still begins her process in solitude, collaboration with producers Drew Vandenberg, Rob Bisel, and Psymun pushed the material toward its most vital forms.

Guest appearances lend further dimension. Chaz Bear (Toro y Moi) joins her on SPELLLING’s first-ever duet, “Mount Analogue.” Turnstile’s Pat McCrory reimagines “Alibi” into a riff-heavy standout, while Zulu’s Braxton Marcellous lends gritty weight to “Drain.” These contributions don’t just complement the album—they help shape its world.

Still, at its core, Portrait of My Heart belongs wholly to Cabral. It’s an unfiltered self-portrait that dives into vulnerability, impulsiveness, and self-examination. “It’s very much an open diary of all those sensations,” she says—a powerful new chapter from one of the most shape-shifting voices in modern pop.