Tabitha Wilson
Caroline Polachek deconstructs desire and celebrates emotion in its rawest form on her glorious new album, Desire, I Want To Turn Into You.
The Connecticut-born singer-songwriter is no stranger to the world of pop, having written for artists including Charli XCX, Christine and the Queens, and Beyoncé. The 37-year-old artist also co-founded indie pop band, Chairlift, whilst studying at the University of Colorado, and they emerged from the late-2000s music scene with their sleeper hit, Bruises.
The New Album
Her 2019 release Pang showed restraint – but Desire, I Want To Turn Into You breaks free and explodes into a dazzling firework display of primal yearning, lust, and hunger. Polachek finds herself suffocated by desire, and chooses to sit with it and embrace it for what it is.
It’s all-consuming, chaotic, and magical. The album showcases her raw, electric talent, and is fantastically indulgent, with Polachek herself describing the album as ‘very maximalist.’
Track List
A dramatic, improvised acapella introduction greets us on Welcome To My Island, a spunky slice of pop perfection that sets the tone.
The second track, Pretty In Possible, features flowing, dream-like melodies, with a powerful vocal performance, Polachek’s singing being a highlight throughout the album. Beautiful, soaring strings at the end of the track tie it together, with the orchestral nature being echoed on the gorgeously sorrowful I Believe, a track with themes of immortality dedicated to the singer’s late friend, producer SOPHIE, who passed away in 2021.
“The atmospheric, overwhelming track submerges us in chaos”
The first single released from the project, and perhaps the most ‘mainstream’ song, is the deliciously skittish Bunny Is A Rider, featuring slick whistle melodies and playful lyrics. The baby giggles that can be heard in the background of the track are from producer Danny L Harle’s daughter – Polachek felt the addition of the sounds was a nod to the iconic baby sample in the Timbaland production of Are You That Somebody by Aaliyah.
The production quality of the release is incredibly crisp, with Smoke being a perfect example of this. The atmospheric, overwhelming track submerges us in chaos before dragging us back to shore to bask in a soundscape incredibly rich and varied in texture.
The blurring of acoustic and digital sounds is an experiment laced throughout the project, with the fifth album single Blood and Butter exploring a variety of musical features, including bagpipes. Polachek has a knack for pushing the boundaries of modern pop, and blending more unusual instruments and genres into her music, with the melancholy Hopedrunk Everasking featuring an Eastern European balalaika, as a homage to her Ukrainian-Jewish heritage, and standout single Sunset featuring Spanish guitars and flamenco melodies.
“that’s what makes it so brilliant.”
Sunset is perhaps the best song Caroline Polachek has released thus far, with the disillusioned lyricism fusing with the Spaghetti-Western-soundtrack-inspired melody to craft a theatrical, sonorous soundscape.
Crude Drawing Of An Angel continues Polachek’s darker, disenchanted lyrical journey, with the shadowy undertones showing a Polachek who is so sure of herself, yet completely lost simultaneously.
The artist’s journey ends with the distorted, trip-hop-inspired Billions, with a twisting guitar line sustaining the track as the singer soul-searches. The track ends with choral vocals repeating the line ‘I’ve never felt so close to you,’ providing some stunning introspection. Polachek could be talking about a lover, herself, or us, the listener – but it doesn’t matter, and that’s what makes it so brilliant.
A Musical Genius
Caroline Polachek is a musical wizard – she stretches boundaries, breaks barriers, and shows us what can happen when you aren’t afraid to let go. She dives into desire head first and allows herself to become completely drenched – and the result is nothing short of genius.
Featured image courtesy of Suvan Chowdhury via Pexels. Image license found here. No changes have been made to this image.
Tabitha Wilson
Tabitha is an MA Journalism student at Sheffield University. She has previously worked as a maritime journalist, and studied politics at Durham University. She enjoys writing about music, culture, and travel.