We Swallowed The Sky Is A Haunting, Cinematic Indie Masterpiece From Beatrix

On The Table Read Magazine, “the best arts and entertainment magazine UK“, experience the haunting evolution of classical prodigy turned indie-pop visionary Beatrix on We Swallowed The Sky, a cinematic, star-studded sophomore album that beautifully unearths the ghosts of past heartbreak.

The Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Arielle Kasnetz, performing under the moniker Beatrix, has officially arrived with her sophomore album, We Swallowed The Sky. Released via Nice Life Recording Company, the record marks a profound evolution for an artist who had to completely reinvent her relationship with music to find her true creative identity.

From Classical Roots to Pandemic Revelations

For most of her life, Kasnetz was defined by rigid discipline. She trained extensively in classical music, dedicating countless hours to vocal scales and piano compositions. Yet, she frequently felt disconnected from the material, realizing she was merely channeling the emotions and narratives of historical figures rather than uncovering her own.

Her creative breakthrough arrived unexpectedly during the pandemic. Isolated in her bedroom with a long-neglected acoustic guitar, she began writing original material for the first time. Songwriting quickly became her ultimate emotional outlet—a unique mental gateway that allowed her to unpack subconscious truths about herself and the world that she otherwise couldn’t access.

On We Swallowed The Sky, Beatrix digs deep into her personal history, using her newfound voice to dissect a formative past relationship and its lingering emotional fallout.

An Elite Lineup of Collaborators

After relocating from New York to Los Angeles without knowing anyone, Kasnetz quickly integrated into a vibrant, supportive community of West Coast musicians. She partnered with co-producers Philip Etherington and Ehren Ebbage to record the core of the album as a trio. From there, they expanded the sonic landscape by recruiting a legendary roster of studio musicians.

The studio lineup features an incredible array of industry veterans:

Musician	Instrument	Notable Collaborations
Harrison Whitford & Ryan Lerman	Guitars	Phoebe Bridgers, John Legend, Vulfpeck
Sean Hurley	Bass	John Mayer, Arlo Guthrie
Rob Humphries	Drums	Kacey Musgraves
Zac Rae	Piano	Death Cab for Cutie, Fiona Apple
Greg Leisz	Pedal Steel	Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell
CJ Camerieri	Horns	Bon Iver, Paul Simon
Jesse Chandler	Woodwinds	Midlake, Mercury Rev
Rob Moose	String Arrangements	Taylor Swift, Sufjan Stevens, Phoebe Bridgers

This powerhouse ensemble blends indie rock, folk, and chamber-pop into an expansive, yearning soundscape. Kasnetz aimed for a specific musical trifecta with this record: pairing complex harmonies and intriguing lyrics with catchy, relatable hooks. The production is intensely atmospheric, drawing inspiration from diverse cultural touchstones like Jonny Greenwood’s Phantom Thread score, Flannery O’Connor’s poetry, and the gothic imagery of Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu.

Revisiting the Ghosts of the Past

The album opens with “Ghosts of Tennessee,” a track that sets a beautiful yet eerie tone. Featuring delicate, double-tracked vocals reminiscent of Sufjan Stevens’ Carrie & Lowell, the song introduces the album’s primary narrative thread: a long-gone relationship that still haunts the songwriter’s present. The track also introduces Greg Leisz’s pedal steel, an instrument that recurs throughout the album as a spectral motif, bridging the gap between yesterday and tomorrow.

The haunting atmosphere continues into the title track, “We Swallowed The Sky.” Built around a foreboding, Elliott Smith-inspired waltz rhythm, the song captures both the initial magic of young love and the residual bitterness that survives over time. It delivers the album’s central thesis by confronting the reality that we can never truly, fully know another person.

The Heartbreak Trilogy and Visual Liberation

At the core of the album lies a three-song conceptual trilogy documenting the slow degradation of a relationship, tracking how initial carelessness morphs into decades of regret.

• “Dead Dog”: The narrative begins with the album’s heaviest, most cathartic rock anthem. Channelling pure rage and emotional devastation, Kasnetz delivers a vocal performance so intense and historically potent that her producers immediately began filming her in the booth to capture the moment.
• “Class Reunion”: The second act jumps a decade into the future. Here, Kasnetz displays her vivid storytelling skills, illustrating an awkward run-in between the two exes. Despite the partner’s lingering assumptions that they belong together, she asserts a cold, biting indifference.
• “Upstate”: The trilogy concludes another ten years down the road with an Americana-tinged track. While the musical arrangement is breezy and upbeat, the lyrics remain deeply wistful, capturing the ex still dwelling on the past, even as she resolves to finally cross that bridge and move on.

Accompanying the release, the self-directed official music video for “Upstate” features a winding, top-down car ride on a day where everything goes wrong, transforming the track into a visual moment of pure liberation.

Introspection and Lightning in a Bottle

The rest of We Swallowed The Sky sees Beatrix turning inward. “Hole To China” is a heartbreaking piano-and-string ballad centered on a childhood Catskills cabin that her family lost to a parental divorce. The cabin serves as a tragic metaphor for spaces, relationships, and eras that can never be recovered. Meanwhile, “The Enemy” utilizes a ghostly arrangement of piano and clarinet that eventually erupts into a chaotic wall of sound, mirroring themes of self-sabotage and internal conflict.

The album culminates in “My Angel,” a slow-burning Americana masterpiece. Recorded entirely live without any prior rehearsal, the final track captures an overwhelming, lightning-in-a-bottle studio performance that left Kasnetz in tears during playback.

Ultimately, We Swallowed The Sky acts as Beatrix’s definitive self-portrait. For an artist who occasionally struggles to feel understood in daily life, this record serves as the ultimate encapsulation of her subconscious—marking the most authentic and fully realized version of herself she has ever shared with the world.

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