Album Review: Lingua Ignota Reckons with Religion in ‘SINNER GET READY’

Lingua Ignota’s Kristin Hayter trades her ever-evolving noise rock for simple, yet harrowing, neoclassical ballads.

Written by C.S. Harper

Photo courtesy of Emily Bird

Kristin Hayter has never played by the rules. From its beginnings as an extension of a master’s thesis, her musical project Lingua Ignota has served as a vessel for her unconventional vision. Under this moniker, Hayter tackles heavy topics that society often stigmatizes: religion, sexual assault, and domestic violence. But rather than using a feminist outlook, she takes from the very ideologies that perpetuate these subjects:

“I am trying to approach the topic of survival in a way that is arresting and unconventional,” the singer said in a Music & Riots interview. “Almost everything I do is informed by misogynist, male-dominated, and patriarchal models. I’m just reframing and re-contextualizing.”

In doing so, Hayter creates survival anthems that are at once bold and deeply personal. As a survivor of domestic violence and sexual abuse, the singer challenges the status quo for people with similar experiences. For instance, the opener of her 2017 debut album, LET THE EVIL OF HIS OWN LIPS COVER HIM, samples an interview from Aileen Wuornos, an American serial killer that Hayter believes exemplifies “how deeply flawed the system is for sex workers, sexual assault survivors, [and] people with mental illness.”

Hayter also disrupts norms sonically, creating avant-garde epics that weave between black metal, classical, noise, and industrial. The classically trained singer typically juxtaposes her operatic vibrato with discordant synths and deafening bass. But in her latest project, SINNER GET READY, she shatters expectations with more acoustic instrumentals and a greater focus on religion than domestic violence. According to Hayter, these religious themes arose from her recent move to rural Pennsylvania to be closer to her then-partner. During this time, she researched Amish and Mennonite texts from the region as inspiration for the album. And that influence bleeds all throughout the record: from the cover art shot in the Scotia Barrens ruins to the aptly named “PENNSYLVANIA FURNACE,” SINNER GET READY is like a snapshot of her life in the Keystone State.

The record kicks off with “THE ORDER OF SPIRITUAL VIRGINS,” an earth-shattering empowerment anthem. Accompanied by solemn piano chords, Hayter lets out a battle cry over her layered vocals: “Hide your children! / Hide your husbands! / I am relentless, I am incessant, I am the ocean.” But despite the track’s initial triumphant tone, the instrumental descends into chaos over its nine-minute runtime, as the piano thunders while white noise and screechy feedback dominate the instrumental. The singer wails the phrase “eternal devotion” in a near sob until her voice fades away, followed by a sample from the American reality show “Alone” in which a man muses about the power of silence. And almost as if in meta fashion, the song has a dramatic pause before the next track begins.

“Glorious Father, intercede for me / If I cannot hide from you, neither can he,” Hayter growls softly before a wall of organ chords, guitar fuzz, and bell rattles overtakes her vocals. These opening lines from “I WHO BEND THE TALL GRASSES” showcase many of the record’s recurring motifs, with lyrics and production influenced by church hymns. The track perfectly captures the angst the singer experienced in Pennsylvania, as she begs God to kill her lover. “Just kill him / You have to!” she shrieks. “MANY HANDS” explores another facet of her relationship with God, who simultaneously pities and reprimands Hayter. Although he calls the songstress a sinner throughout, she recalls that “The Lord spat and held me by my neck / ‘I would die for you, I would die for you,’ he wept.”

Image courtesy of Sargent House

“PENNSYLVANIA FURNACE,” named after an unincorporated community of the same name, touches on the eponymous state more directly. On Instagram, Hayter shared that the track “references an obscure 18th century legend of the Pennsylvania Dutch, in which a cruel ironmaster throws his beloved dogs into his furnace and they return to drag him down to hell.” “Me and the dog, we die together,” she sings in a delicate vibrato before calling out Jesus’ name. Ironically one of the more serene songs in the record, the track has a distinct gospel sound, with triumphant piano chords and brass notes. The accompanying music video has a similar ethereal tone, as the singer dances in a field with red smoke symbolic of Jesus’ blood.

But this sense of peace quickly dissipates in “REPENT NOW CONFESS NOW,” a dark folk song that begins with a brooding banjo and bass rhythm. “Repent now, repent now / Remember this body is not your home,” Hayter threatens. Her warnings become more menacing throughout the track, as she claims that “No wound is as sharp as the will of God / (...) He will take your legs and your will to live.” But she unexpectedly laments in the outro, “I can’t say I don’t deserve it / He took my legs and my will to live.” The track is the ultimate murder ballad: murder by God himself.

Photo courtesy of Lisa Birds

After this turning point, the second half of the album focuses on salvation. In “THE SACRED LINAMENT OF JUDGEMENT,” Hayter triumphantly belts, “My wounds that stung before now sing / Washed in precious blood.” Instead of discordant piano chords and harrowing distortion, the singer is accompanied by a soothing instrumental of violins and bells. Named after a Pennsylvania ghost town, the minimalist “PERPETUAL FLAME OF CENTRALIA” offers a closer glimpse into Hayter’s journey to redemption. Though the track primarily only features the piano to back the singer’s vocals, her lyrics are complex and cryptic. “I am covered with the blood of Jesus / Fear is nothing when the path is righteous / I rest my head in a holy kingdom / Mine is the venom of the snake of Eden,” she quivers.

Hayter continues showcasing her wit in the closing track, “THE SOLITARY BRETHREN OF EPHRATA.” Although the singer seemingly holds religion in high regard and makes it the centerpiece of SINNER GET READY, she also recognizes its drawbacks. The song begins with a sample of a CNN interview in which a woman claims her faith in Jesus will protect her from  COVID-19. Hayter proceeds to joyfully sing, “All my pains are lifted / Paradise is mine,” which seems almost delusional in the context of the sample. As a grim closing statement for the album, the singer acknowledges the limits of faith, leaving her spiritual journey on a chilling cliff-hanger.

Much like the rest of Hayter’s discography, SINNER GET READY is far from easy to digest. From the singer’s jaw-dropping vocals to the riveting production, every second of this record demands your attention. But despite the album’s mercurial narrative, it symbolizes a new era for Lingua Ignota: a possible light at the end of the tunnel, a new chapter in which the singer heals from the past and looks to religion for solace.