Music Critic Jimmy Simpson reviews Caroline Polachek’s latest album, praising her scintillating skill as a music artist
Valentine’s Day this year marked the one-year anniversary of the release of American singer-songwriter Caroline Polachek’s second studio album, Desire, I Want To Turn Into You. Captivating critics and long-time fans alike with its rich art pop sound and grandiose aura, Polachek’s sophomore effort spawned a handful of critically-acclaimed singles including ‘Bunny is a Rider’, ‘Billions’ and ‘Welcome to my Island’. To honour its one-year anniversary, Polachek has released a deluxe reissue of Desire…, titled Everasking Edition, which features a bunch of new and exciting tracks as well as several re-recordings.
Having embraced love in all its violence and intensity the first time around, on this version Polachek is more contemplative…
Expanding on the sublime aesthetics of its original, Everasking Edition revisits themes of emancipation, euphoria and sensuosity. While the original cover features Polachek crawling on the floor of a subway train with her hand extending out, she assumes a foetal position on the deluxe cover, ensconced in a window seat corner and listening to music as a stylistic breeze rushes through her hair. This visual reconfiguration could suggest many things: perhaps Polachek has finally achieved the state of desire she was previously reaching for, or perhaps she yearns for it even harder. This notion of ‘yearning’ comes through vividly on the reissue, particularly on tracks like the ‘Butterfly Net’ remix featuring Weyes Blood. The sentiment of waving a butterfly net and ‘trying to catch’ the light of one’s romantic subject is effusive and literary and is remade even more dazzling through the addition of Blood’s vocals and a new acoustic section. Similarly, the acoustic version of ‘I Believe’ exchanges the speed and dynamism of the original for a slower tempo and more meditative structure. Having embraced love in all its violence and intensity the first time around, on this version Polachek is more contemplative, and the rush gives way to gentle appreciation.
The song’s hopeful theme is realised immaculately through the glistening outro sequence and Polachek’s airy vocals
These moments of grandiosity are nicely juxtaposed by the terse quirkiness of ‘Dang’, on which Polachek interlaces her descriptions of being punctual for a special someone with moments of metallic distortion and muffled moaning. These jagged and eccentric qualities strongly evoke other art pop contemporaries like Jockstrap, as well as classic artists like Talking Heads and Kate Bush (the latter of whom Polachek has directly cited as an influence). More so than any cut on the original release, ‘Spring Is Coming With A Strawberry In The Mouth’ (a cover of a song by Irish band Operating Theatre) sees Polachek experimenting with synths. The song’s hopeful theme is realised immaculately through the glistening outro sequence and Polachek’s airy vocals (which are yet another testament to her classical training).
Other tracks impress less. The one-minute-and-twenty-eight seconds of ‘Meanwhile’ fade quickly into forgetfulness, while ‘Coma’ makes the opposite mistake of being too bloated and indulgent. Polachek also leans further into her New Age sensibility on the reissue, and while it is charming for the most part, certain vocal inflections and musical elements like the bongo sequence on ‘Coma’ feel ever so slightly on-the-nose. Desire, I Want To Turn Into You remains glorious notwithstanding, and the Everasking Edition just further demonstrates Polachek’s scintillating skill as a music artist.
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