I was listening to this album again on a drive and I just think it’s great! I took three notes (by way of dictating to my Smart Watch Voice Assistant — keep your eyes on the road!!)
I have a theory that the “young adult”-ification of media also applies to contemporary songwriting (this is a qualitative descriptor not a value judgement). Very melodramatic songwriting, clear messages about young adult feelings like love and lust and figuring yourself out, etc. Very broadly culturally accessible stuff. I don’t think in broad strokes this is new but there’s a resonance to me with these qualities taking over all storytelling media. I think Helena is a complex writer and does not… More
Kimbra makes music indicative of having good and interesting taste. I also think that she has a really good ear for collaborators. (I suspect these are related.)
Kimbra makes music that, to me, sounds like “the future of the present”. It sounds exciting and it sounds immaculate, but there’s always a kernel of the contemporary in there. I think she’s experimental but I don’t think she’s avant-garde (qualitatively neutral observation). She still makes music that, when you listen to it year(s) later, it still manages to transport you back to that time and place.
Foolish Thinking (track 8) is I think a pretty incredible subversion of what has come before. It takes her confidence and… More
A logical evolution of their previous (also great) album, Zapandú. This album lives at an incredible intersection between listenable and abrasive (lyrically, sonically). They're so cool.