Think of Mist by Dorothea Paas

Dorothea Paas Think of Mist

78
ChoruScore
3 reviews
Nov 15, 2024
Release Date
Telephone Explosion Records
Label

Dorothea Paas's Think of Mist unfolds as a nature-soaked song cycle where selfhood collides with surrender, and where lush orchestration frames quiet, intimate revelation. Critics agree the record's strengths lie in voice-arrangement and genre blending - psych rock, jazz, folk and pop - that let Paas move from folksy intimacy to hymn-like transcendence without losing emotional specificity.

Across three professional reviews, Think of Mist earned a 78.33/100 consensus score, with reviewers highlighting a handful of standout tracks as the album's emotional center. “Made Of Mist”, “Maybe I'll Fade” and “Diver” recur in critics' best-of lists: Exclaim praises “Diver” for its Stereolab-esque refracted textures while Pitchfork and Dusted single out “Made Of Mist” and “Maybe I'll Fade” for their hymn-like swells, wordless codas and quiet emotional detail. Reviewers consistently note religious imagery, pastoral longing and moments of transcendence threaded through Paas's lyricism and arrangement.

Not everyone reads the record as wholly seamless; the consensus frames the album as rewarding repeated listens rather than delivering instant hits. Some critics emphasize how full-band washes elevate intimate lines, while others celebrate the pared-back clarity of songs like “Night Picture” and “Autumn Roses”. Taken together, the professional reviews suggest Think of Mist is worth listening to for listeners seeking atmospheric, intricately arranged songs that balance spiritual reckoning with interpersonal longing.

Below, read the full set of reviews and track-by-track notes that explain why these best songs on Think of Mist emerge as its most affecting moments.

Critics' Top Tracks

The standout songs that made critics take notice

1

Made Of Mist

3 mentions

"Eventually, it evaporates into “Made of Mist” ( get it? ), a wordless coda of gushing water and ethereal harmonies."
Pitchfork
2

Maybe I'll Fade

3 mentions

"She has described “Maybe I’ll Fade,” the album’s dreamy, hymn-like centerpiece"
Pitchfork
3

Diver

3 mentions

"see the Stereolab-esque "Diver," which refracts like water in real-time."
Exclaim
Eventually, it evaporates into “Made of Mist” ( get it? ), a wordless coda of gushing water and ethereal harmonies.
P
Pitchfork
about "Made Of Mist"
Read full review
3 mentions
84% sentiment

Track Ratings

How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.

View:
1

My Hand Creates Ripples On The Surface Of The Water

2 mentions
65
01:50
2

Autumn Roses

3 mentions
68
04:15
3

Night Picture

3 mentions
70
05:04
4

Diver

3 mentions
86
02:50
5

Maybe I'll Fade

3 mentions
97
03:47
6

Made Of Mist

3 mentions
100
01:50
7

Whatever That Means

3 mentions
52
03:41
8

Resolve

2 mentions
00:13
9

No Metaphor

3 mentions
36
03:17
10

Locked

3 mentions
28
04:59

What Critics Are Saying

Deep insights from 4 critics who reviewed this album

80

Critic's Take

Measured and admiring, Vish Khanna finds Dorothea Paas's Think of Mist most compelling where it unfurls into full-band washes and intimate revelations. He highlights “Diver” as a Stereolab-esque refraction of water and singles out “Night Picture” for its grounding, existential lyricism, making both prime candidates when readers ask about the best songs on Think of Mist. The review privileges Paas's playfully experimental vocal arrangements and lush orchestration as the reasons these tracks stand out, casting them as the album's emotional center. Khanna's tone is appreciative and analytical, recommending these selections to anyone seeking the best tracks on Think of Mist.

Key Points

  • The best song is "Diver" for its Stereolab-esque, water-like refractive production that showcases the album's lush full-band direction.
  • The album's core strengths are its lush orchestration, thoughtful existential lyricism, and playful vocal arrangements that blend psych, jazz, and pop.

Themes

selfhood vs. surrender interpersonal relationships spirituality and reckoning lush orchestration genre blending (psych rock, jazz, pop)

Critic's Take

As written here, Dorothea Paas’s Think of Mist is a swooning, nature-obsessed song cycle whose best songs - notably “Maybe I’ll Fade” and “Made Of Mist” - anchor the album with hymn-like, strangely horny wonder. The reviewer lingers on Paas’s crystallic voice and the way “Maybe I’ll Fade” swells into the wordless coda “Made Of Mist”; those tracks feel like the record’s emotional center. Side pieces like “Autumn Roses” and “No Metaphor” show off her Joni Mitchell-like freewheeling vocal logic, while “Whatever That Means” demonstrates her gift for technicolor harmony. Taken together, the album’s best tracks reward repeated listening with a yearning for transcendence threaded through pastoral imagery.

Key Points

  • “Maybe I’ll Fade” is best for its hymn-like swelling, childlike wonder, and its role as the album’s emotional centerpiece.
  • The album’s core strengths are Paas’s crystalline, choir-trained voice and inventive vocal arrangements that find transcendence in everyday nature imagery.

Themes

nature transcendence longing voice-arrangement religious imagery

Critic's Take

The reviewer writes with affectionate authority about Dorothea Paas's Think of Mist, singling out the album's moments of intimate clarity. In that voice, the best songs - notably “Made Of Mist” and “Maybe I'll Fade” - are praised for their warm thrum and quiet emotional detail, which the critic returns to again and again. The piece frames these tracks as the album's clearest statements, where band-in-a-room textures meet Paas's delicate melodies, and it reads like a continuation of the reviewer's admiration from her earlier work.

Key Points

  • Made Of Mist stands out for embodying the album's atmospheric clarity and emotional intimacy.
  • The album's core strengths are its warm band textures, intimate production, and Paas's delicate melodies.

Themes

folksy intimacy atmosphere and mist quiet emotional detail