“You are in a safe container.” The first time you hear this phrase on “being in your body,” the third track off of Alexa Dexa’s newest project Bewitch Yourself, you want to believe it. Maybe you agree, maybe you want to agree but can’t, but it’s comforting to hear someone tell you that. As the song continues, and as Dexa keeps repeating that sentiment, it becomes reassuring. Like when Robin Williams wouldn’t stop telling Matt Damon it’s not his fault, it feels good to be told something you may not always believe.

Alexa Dexa is a toychestral composer based out of New York, using their vast collection of toy instruments to create pieces that are simultaneously child-like and otherworldly. Although early releases like 2019’s Instructions for Construction Paper Cut Outs relied on more straight forward pop structures and bellowing vocals, Dexa seems now to be more interested in deconstructing our traditional understanding of how to create a piece of music. Their 2020 release, Categories, was a sonic retelling of a series of nightmares Dexa had, with each letter in the story being assigned a note. This time around, Dexa is using their own self-published oracle deck to create what they call “songspells,” defined by Dexa as “intentions holding space for dream possibilities that manifest transformation through the process of deep listening.”

To call Bewitch Yourself an album almost feels like a disservice. This is a guided meditation, one that lets the listener decide where they’ll end up. The toy pianos that have become Dexa’s staple are still present, but the real star of the show here are their vocals. Each track is bathed with endless echoes of affirmations, voices being infinitely layered on top of each other. We are given one voice to latch onto, however, as Dexa gently sets intentions for each leg of our journey. The familiar sounds of bright and clunky keys occasionally pierce through the cavernous howlings, but only sparingly, serving as a tether to the reality we are momentarily escaping.

Alexa Dexa’s newest offering will envelop you. From the very first word sung, it sits you down and lets you know that you are fine. That you are enough. That there is a lot to learn and a lot to work on but also that there is no time limit to any of it. You are in a safe container.