Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
Art Pop – February 14, 2023 – 12 songs, 45 mins
LUNDI
Recently the TSR group chat dove into Lil Yachty, a rapper who took a crack at the world of psychedelic rock on his latest album. Despite the general acclaim received, my stance as a fan of the genre is that Yachty’s Let’s Start Here is bland, overly auto tuned and really only impressive because of the rappers genre switching ability. Why am I bringing this up now? Well this week’s artist Caroline Polachek is an indie darling of the former band Chairlift who is pushing her way from dimly lit indie rock clubs to stadium pop starlight with her solo career. Is her sophomore album Desire, I Want To Turn Into You a true pop masterpiece as the acclaim would suggest, or is it another example of overrating genre switching? Lucky for you I have opinions.
Let’s not waste time on that cliffhanger introduction, Desire is impeccable in nearly every technical facet, but damn it sure took me a few listens to get there. Unlike most pop music albums this one takes a while to shine. It screams of the indie world in that regard but make no mistake this is pop music at heart and it’s composed with daring creativity and beautifully constructed musical soundscapes. Polachek dazzles, exuding the utmost confidence while wearing her vulnerabilities like a badge of honour. Her songwriting is personal yet relatable while her wide register vocal is uniquely talented. She commands your attention from the opening note and never let’s go.
Polachek doesn’t only shine on the surface as her finger prints are all over the musical DNA and production of Desire. Danny Harle slides in as the main partner in crime with the duo writing and producing 9 of the 12 tracks while a handful of others lend their talents to the remaining 3. In the pop landscape where it’s no shock to have 100+ names contribute to an album, this minimalist team is damn impressive. And when you unwrap every little detail packed into Desire, the appreciation only grows. The base beats are sophisticated to the point they sound fresh while the nuances layered on top set the record apart. It’s a genre spanning effort that does the small things to perfection. Taking the time to listen to Desire’s instrumentals is mesmerizing to the point that it’s hard to comprehend just how much musical talent is on display. The foresight to know where to place each little intricacy is something to behold. With the sophomore slump avoided and a formidable duo in the booth and at the controls, saying the sky is the limit may be underselling Polachek.
There is one glaring omission on Desire however that can’t go unspoken. The big pop radio hooks are surprisingly no where to be found. I’m intentionally avoiding use of the word flaw or negative here as the musical technique is often a crutch for pop artists, and in a way it’s incredible that Polachek finds near pop perfection on this album without them, but it is undeniably a huge part of what makes those chart topping artists so popular. And this isn’t confined to pop, the biggest and best musicians in all genres write great hooks. Is there a single festival or stadium chanting moment here? I lean no, and with that creative direction on an album that requires numerous listens to unpack, I do have concerns the album won’t garner the attention it deserves. When it all unfolds though there isn’t a single pop artist out there that can’t learn something from Desire, but it works both ways and just maybe Polachek could learn a thing or two from those that have blazed the pop trail their whole careers.
If Desire, I Want To Turn Into You was a Taylor Swift or Beyoncé album the headlines everywhere would be naming it one of the greatest pop albums ever. It’s that damn good. Polachek has it all except the name brand recognition.
Overall Rating: 8.6/10
Favourite Song: Sunset
REID
Next up on TSR’s musical adventure is another new artist, rising alt-pop star, Caroline Polachek. Her late father was a trained classical musician and the apple didn’t fall far as she joined choir and played the piano and synthesizer at a young age. A career in music seemed inevitable for the girl from Connecticut but nothing in this industry comes easy. Polachek put in the work, grinding her way with several groups, styles and monikers to get where she is today. An established singer, songwriter and producer riding the momentum from her second studio album under her own name. Despite covid cancelling her tour and slowing aspiring growth from her first, Pang (2019), she garnered the attention of many including Dua Lipa, landing the opening gig on her 2022 tour. She also features on Charlie XCX and Flume’s latest. What’d she do while the world was on hold? Went to work to release Desire, I Want To Turn Into You on Valentine’s Day a few weeks back.
I’m going to cut to the chase on this one. This album had my attention from the first listen and continues to impress each time. The reality is I had no idea what I was in for and Polachek blew me away with refined creativity over the 45-minute run time.
You can only marvel at the soundscapes created by Polachek and Danny Harle. The instrument of choice is the synthesizer but boy, they offer much more. Each of the fourteen songs has a differentiating component, eliminating redundancy and preserving intrigue. The bagpipes in Blood and Butter, guitar in Fly To You, Spanish guitar in Sunset and whistling in Bunny Is A Rider…the list goes on. The percussion variety throughout is another truly awesome element. And I obviously could not forget her voice. Its range and adaptability are excellent. Tasteful, robotic-like alterations add a nice touch to the confident, yet vulnerable lyrics. When you stop to think of her and Harle piecing together the intricate details to most songs by themselves, it really gives a heightened appreciation for the finished product.
Every now and then a song hits you just right. In this case it’s Billions. The slow build and sultry play on words leading to the piano bridge and children’s harmonized vocals is brilliant. Positioning it as the final song earns a chef’s kiss. In the words of George Costanza, ‘it moved’. Then I fired up the video and Caroline, ‘I have never felt so close to you’.
Desire, I Want To Turn Into You is alternative pop music at its finest. Caroline Polachek is the total package. After gaining notoriety with critical acclaim on her first album and subsequent Tik Tok fame, this should be her official coming-out party.
Overall Rating: 8.6/10
Favourite Song: Billions
ROZ
Caroline Polachek. You wouldn’t believe how many times I have crossed paths with this woman’s name, from music festival posters to curated streaming playlists. “Not this time, sneaky algorithm”, I would say. Finally she lands on the path that cannot be denied, the path I am led on by an entity that I cannot ignore: Too Sweet Reviews. Polachek’s newest album is the second one under her own real name and is the overall fourth album between her new personal venture and her old indie pop band Chairlift. I have listened to zero of these albums. This is Desire, I Want To Turn Into You.
God damn, sneaky algorithm. Why do I take you for granted? Why is it that I’ve yet to give in to the powers of AI considering the inevitable societal domination that is to come? Regardless of the mayhem and destruction you will soon bring to us all, I just have to say - you really do know what I like. Desire, I Want To Turn Into You had me captivated right out of the gate and held me in that captivation until it ended. The album is a masterclass in effective production techniques as it pulls off every trick in the book, highlighting and accentuating every ounce of talent within the artist it’s focused on. The human voice as an instrument is a robust, dynamic tool. Modern technology has given musicians the power to create new ways of using this tool; Caroline Polachek and her surprisingly small team have done this impressively well.
If you’re unsure of what I mean, look no further than track two of the record, Pretty In Possible. Drenched in reverb effects and built upon breakbeat patterns with soft synth accompaniments - listen to how Caroline's voice is utilized: sustained vocal notes are stretched into chords and used as backing pads, multiple octaves and pitches are explored and an impressive amount of vocal effects and layered arrangements are implemented - harmonies, ad libs, hell even tension-based effects (check that vocal sample riser at the 2:10 mark). Simply incredible. Vocal layers are melded together with old ‘90s sound effects, cymbal crashes and drum machines in I Believe. Examples of the techniques can be found to no end, and to my delight.
Here we take a moment to gush over my favorite of the twelve, Bunny Is A Rider, where at close listen even the underlying white noise texture is automated by the production team to move out of the way as each kick drum strikes the track. Ear candy is used to maximum effect with whistling hooks, baby laughter and bird noise ambience staying ever-present yet fleeting in the mix. A lightly strummed guitar is pushed back as bass guitar, 909 toms and various other percussions fill the entirety of the stereo spectrum. Vocal effects are once again used and layered in tasteful but creative amounts. For every listen-through of the album for this Too Sweet Review, I made sure to replay this one back two or three times per session.
Vocalizations are once again sampled and used harmonically behind the lead elements on Blood And Butter, as the songs Celtic-folk roots make themselves known through the introduction of bagpipes. Bagpipes! And they sound great! Hopedrunk Everasking strips the percussion entirely in order to really show off Polachek’s vocal prowess with arrangement, sound selection and layering once again used masterfully in order to completely amplify the experience. The quality of tracks hold strong up and into the closer, Billions, a song full of creative foley and vocal effect that finally releases all remnants of the record’s tension through the use of a children's choir. Beautiful.
Is the album without fault? No I wouldn’t say that is the case here. Both Sunset and Crude Drawing Of An Angels - two songs coincidentally back to back on the track listing - gave me a small scare that the album’s quality had already been cut short. Luckily, this wasn’t the case, but it did leave me with two permanent skips after deconstructing them. Sunset simply took me out of my immersion and threw me into a spaghetti western that I did not want to be a part of - just a very grating change in style overall from the Manhattan-born, Connecticut-raised Polachek. Crude Drawing kept to the theme of abstract production methods and focus on the vocal aspect, however it just seemed to take the abstraction a little too far. Nonetheless, two small blemishes on an otherwise polished album takes away very little from the overall experience. Unique ideas executed flawlessly. Desire, I Want To Turn Into You may very well be the rocket that shoots Caroline Polachek to the very top of the pop music landscape.
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
Favourite Song: Bunny Is A Rider