Kimbra
The Golden Echo
19 August 2014
Warner Bros.
3.5 stars out of 5
Kiwi-with-bangs Kimbra Johnson gives us her second LP, The Golden Echo, coming three years
after her debut, Vows. Kimbra, of
course, became world-famous after the success of her Grammy-winning duet with
Gotye, the omnipresent “Somebody That I Used to Know.” It was a spooky little
ditty that somehow managed to get itself on Top 40 radio every couple of hours
for most of 2011 and 2012, sandwiched between Nicki Minaj and The Black Eyed
Peas. The Golden Echo is far more of
a pop record than “Somebody,” although it only occasionally moves into true Top
40 territory (such as the ‘70s funk grooves of “Miracle” or “Madhouse”). Early
reports of the album suggested appearances by Omar Rodríguez-López of The Mars
Volta, Matt Bellamy of Muse, and Steven Ellison (aka Flying Lotus), but
according to the credits none of these collaborations made it into the final
mix.
Kimbra occupies a sort of purgatory between the hell of Top
40 and the heaven of college radio. Even “Madhouse,” a pop-funk tune along the
lines of Prince, delves into the weird at times, deconstructing itself near the
end, pulling itself apart and back through its own poppy entrails. Prince is
Kimbra’s most obvious influence on The
Golden Echo, from the slinky grooves to the vocal acrobatics. Being a
liminal creature occupying the threshold between two distinct musical realms
isn’t necessarily a bad thing—U2 has based a career on it—and the 24-year-old Johnson’s
songwriting talent should continue to develop as she explores her music.
As pop records go, The
Golden Echo is likely one of the better ones you’ll hear this year. It’s
intelligent, complex, adventurous, and never caters to the lowest common
denominator. Well worth picking up if you’re the type who’s afraid of most of
the other records I review here.
reviewed by Richard Krueger
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