Big Blue
by Kylie V

From Mercury 04/08/2021 17:48 | #268341

(A Fine indie rock/folk/singer-songwriter album. No trait stands out as particularly noteworthy, but still, it is a fine and at times pretty and heartfelt album.)

First things first, I thought this was a good and serviceable indie rock singer/songwriter album. A few moments on the album were borderline brilliant (loved the solo in "On My Mind" and I like some of the production choices and that kinda warbling watery somewhat surreal vibe that comes through a few times.) and I think Kylie is a very promising artist. However, I think ignoring the fact that this is a17 year old making this album - which makes everything more impressive, if not better - I think this is just a pretty good and also uneven, at times half-baked, somewhat maudlin record. The first person I thought of when she started singing in track 1 was Julien Baker. Specifically that song could have come right off of Sprained Ankle, someone could have said it was a left off track from the recording of Sprained Ankle and I'd 100% believe it. Although the music goes to other places than the stark and brutal sounds of the Julien Baker debut, the vocal style and the way her voice cracks and sometimes rises in intense near-shouts and also the way the vocals stay in a deeply sad space - all reminded me very much of Baker the whole way through. This isn't bad, however, because I love me some Julien Baker. It is simply noteworthy, I suppose.

Musically, there are some cool songs, or, rather, good bits of songs or song ideas. Many times the tracks felt a little disjointed or incomplete. The songwriting isn't mind-blowing but it's alright and the words generally do provide a nice and intimate inside look at the mind of this young musician. There are a couple parts of the album that feature the sound of an answering machine or almost a quasi-found sound type recording thrown onto a track and, outside of maybe that last little snippet that is paired with the pretty piano to close the album, I think these bits are silly and don't work and are, again, half-baked and don't add much.

Geez, it sounds like I dislike this album. I don't. I liked it, but nothing blew me away. I'm excited for this artist and I think she is a badass for making this while still not a legal adult and I will be listening to her future albums to see where she goes from here. But overall, I have already heard dozens of indie singer/songwriter albums this year alone and in order for me personally to be captivated you need to give me some really great word play or an atmosphere that is undeniable and unique or some wrinkle that makes me truly fall into the world of the album or the artist. This album doesn't do that. It for sure will do that for many others and perhaps this album hits hard for many others. But, anyway, yeah, those were my thoughts