Greetings,
So, pop music. A lot of people think it's awful, and, in some cases, they are quite right in feeling this way. But I think when we say pop music, especially these days, we are referring to all the crap that's on the charts right now. The "pop", after all, does mean popular, as we all know, which means it should cover all genres. But Pop has become a genre all its own, and it tends to be described as light and fun, at best, and ridiculous, pointless and just plain wrong, at worst. Still, every so often, an artist comes along that can take the catchiness of Pop and give it some depth. Enter Kate Miller-Heidke and her album, Curiouser.
What's that? You don't know who Kate Miller-Heidke is? Well, what's wrong? Don't you listen to Opera? No, seriously, she is a classically trained, Australian Opera singer, who decided one day that she was going to make some pop music. Why not? So, she started to release some EPs, which led up to her full-length, debut album, Little Eve, in 2007, and then Curiouser in 2008. And that is the one I'm going to talk about today.
Now, before you guys get all worried, thinking, "Wait, I don't know if I can handle the high-pitchness in the voice of an Opera singer for an entire album", I'll just say to relax. Whilst Kate does use her ability to hit those high notes on this album, it's more used as something of an accessory, to add a special texture and uniqueness to the songs. But, for the most part, she sings in such a way that we can all sing along. And this is just one of the things that makes this album special. Now let's talk about some of those songs, shall we?
Right off the bat, we do get some of those high vocals as the first song, "The One Thing I Know" begins, but as I said, it is simply used almost as another instrument. Once we really get into the song, it immediately shows what a great sense of rhythm she has, creating something of a dance track here. This skill is again evident with "Politics In Space", which almost has this Country music beat to it, at least, in the beginning. Or is that just me? The second track is "God's Gift to Women", which is where we see how amazingly creative she is with lyrics and rhyme schemes, composing one of the most fantastically biting songs I've ever heard. Not unlike the closing track "No Truck". It would seem that, according to this song, someone has "enjoyed" a relationship with a guy who is a whiny, little baby, who stomps his feet and yells when he doesn't get his way. What, did she date Loki or something? Oh, snap! Of course, bad boyfriends are a dime a dozen. What about other bad relationships? In "I Like You Better When You're Not Around", we explore the crap-fest that is a toxic friendship. Can't we all relate to that? Yes. Yes, we can.
One of my favorites here is "Caught In the Crowd". I don't know, for sure, if this is Kate sharing a true story with us, but it certainly feels like it is. It tells the tale of a friendship she had in school with an unpopular boy, the mistakes she made where it was concerned and her regret. She is able to show, from the point of view of an adult, how things you do in your youth can shape who you will become. Interestingly enough, another song, "The End of School", talks about how what we are doing in the moment feels like the "be-all and end-all" when we're young. Covering all the bases there, I see. Very nice.
Now there are a few tracks on this album that are, for lack of a better word, just plain fun, lyrically speaking. "Can't Shake It" is pretty much about her limited skills as a dancer, the first word you hear in "Motorscooter" is "Vroom!", and in "Supergirl" she sings this line - "It's not Jessica but Lisa when it comes to choosing Simpsons". WHAT! Yeah, Kate's my new BFF after that. And I'm not even really a fan of The Simpsons. It's more because I am a hardcore NOT fan of...the other thing.
We also get a couple of nice, sweet, love songs on the album, of course. "The Last Day on Earth" has been called by some the best thing she has ever written, no doubt thanks to the emotional lyrics and performance she gives. I agree that it is amazing, but my favorite song here is "Our Song". It's just so simple and beautiful and heartbreaking. Though this collection of songs is quite personal, I feel like this one is the most open and revealing.
Now I think the CD I have is something of a deluxe edition, because it comes with two bonus tracks. One is a very cool song that also appeared on the previous album, Little Eve. The other is a little song about some fool who wants to be her Facebook friend or something, and she's all "NO! Get away from from here!" Again, why not? Oh, and I may as well take this opportunity to give a shout out to Kate's writing partner for Curiouser, Keir Nuttall, who, according to my info, is also her husband. So she gets a husband AND a writing partner all rolled into one? Yeah, where can I get myself one of those?
So that is my take on Curiouser from Kate Miller-Heidke. It's really great. I know I have mentioned how I don't listen to current radio very much, and that is because, whether this is true or not, I feel like almost no one cares anymore. Very rarely do I come across anyone who is striving to be an artist, rather than just famous. As a writer myself, that is just so sad to me. Thankfully, though, we have Kate, who is a true artist. She has managed to create music that is jovial and lighthearted with great melodies, whilst also lyrically having some ingenuity and being extremely personal. So it is possible. And that beautiful voice. What can I even say about it that would do it justice? In closing, I certainly hope that when it comes time for young, future musical artists to start picking people to emulate and by whom to be inspired, they look in the direction of Kate Miller-Heidke.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
