SPELLLING Will Kick Off Her ‘Portrait of my Heart’ Tour in San Francisco

SPELLLING is an artist with her own multiverse. And while previous albums like The Turning Wheel leaned into fantastical world-building and baroque instrumentation, the Oakland singer-songwriter strips that all away on her new release, Portrait of My Heart. The 11-track project throttles at an exhilarating speed as SPELLLING leans into guitar-driven alternative rock to explore inner turmoil and conflicting desires.

On the title track, SPELLLING crescendoes to a wailing chorus of “I don’t belong here” — cathartically releasing self-doubt that’s come with following her artistic path. Meanwhile, the dark ballad “Destiny Arrives” foregrounds SPELLLING’s dynamic voice, at times dipping into a husky half-whisper, as she sings earnestly about suffering through obstacles. Portrait of My Heart feels a little bit like System of a Down, a little bit like Kate Bush, and a little bit like Elphaba from Wicked, yet stands firm in the signature SPELLLING sound that’s catapulted the singer from Oakland’s underground to the national stage.

SPELLLING is taking Portrait of My Heart on the road for a national tour that kicks off April 4 at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall. Joining her on stage is a stripped-down ensemble drawn from her live band, the Mystery School: guitarist ​​Wyatt Overson, who expertly modulates the album’s energy from minimalist riffs to maximalist guitar solos, and drummer Patrick Shelley and bassist Giulio Xavier Cetto, who provide a punchy, high-energy rhythm section.

SPELLLING’s demos, which she writes alone with her guitar and synth, form the core of her creative process, but the artist built out the distortion-heavy sound of Portrait of My Heart with a crew of venerable collaborators. Those include Bay Area-raised producer Rob Bisel, who helped SZA craft the smart R&B of SOS, and Psymun, who’s assisted on Santigold’s crisp synth-pop and Yves Tumor’s grimy art-rock. Chaz Bear (a.k.a. Toro y Moi) joined SPELLLING in the studio for “Mount Analogue,” a track with an ’80s lounge-singer vibe that wouldn’t sound out of place in a David Lynch film.

SPELLLING’s live shows usually ramp up those surrealist elements: To celebrate her last album, 2023’s SPELLLING & the Mystery School, she booked a music festival at Oakland’s 75-year-old theme park, Children’s Fairyland, with Afrofuturist acts like the Sun Ra Arkestra. Her concerts tend to draw out those who once felt alienated like her — the queer, trans, Black and brown grown-up art kids, who might see themselves reflected in this portrait of SPELLLING’s heart.

SPELLLING performs Friday, April 4, at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. Details here.