English model, actress and singer-songwriter Suki Waterhouse has graced the cover of British Vogue, and this year marked her fourth appearance on the red carpet at the Met Gala. Though her fashion taste is clearly leagues ahead of mine, I bet Waterhouse wore rose-colored glasses while writing her latest album “Loveland,” released Friday.
The album furthers Waterhouse’s dreamy indie pop sound with a tracklist that explores the intricacies of being in love. While I enjoy her laid-back musical style and was excited by the new release, I think its 43-minute runtime could have been consolidated to prioritize quality over quantity.
With a long, brass-heavy opening and catchy chorus, “Back in Love” is a great start to the album. Cheerful instrumentals back lyrics about the elation of being swept away by romance, a theme that continues throughout the tracklist.
“Notting Hill” layers Waterhouse’s sing-song-y voice over sleepy, laid-back instrumentals as she sings of a Sunday morning with her lover. Playful lyrics like “I bring you breakfast back to bed, you’re my favourite flavour / You light a cigarette instead, my god, you’re shameless” and a feedback-heavy guitar solo make the song a standout.
The back stretch of “Loveland” is hit or miss. Waterhouse certainly isn’t the first artist to produce an inconsistent B-side, but with 14 total tracks, I wish she had cut several of the weaker ones. Given that she also released “Loveland (Bonus Track Version)” on Tuesday with only one extra song, a slimmer original tracklist could have made both releases more satisfying.
I haven’t seen the “Daisy Jones & The Six” television series that Waterhouse starred in, but I have read the book and consider its story a fictional version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” documentary. So I wasn’t shocked to hear that Mick Fleetwood played drums on the album’s 12th track, “Morals.” Fleetwood’s uptempo part is a nice change of pace after several slower tracks on the album’s second half.
The titular track describes a dysfunctional relationship dynamic. Waterhouse sings “I was your secret, I was bulletproof / And living life as an eternal muse was appealing.” Though she acknowledges the pain the relationship caused her in the end, she claims she would “do it all over again.” If songs like “Back in Love” convey the euphoria of new romance, others like “Loveland” illustrate the blind spots that accompany it.
“Weirdo,” the album’s final track, is an ode to a long-distance lover and seems to be about Waterhouse’s relationship with actor Robert Pattinson. I appreciate that Waterhouse ended “Loveland” on a bittersweet note, acknowledging how complex love can be, but the song felt a bit anticlimactic compared to the album’s high-energy opening notes.
Waterhouse took a step in the right direction with “Loveland.” Although I’m not enamored with every song on the album, others are very catchy, and the overall project is cohesive and true to her signature sound. I hope the fashionista can take another break from the red carpet to enter the recording studio again soon.
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