Caroline Polachek

Desire, I Want To Turn Into You – Perpetual Novice

As one half of the synth duo Chairlift, Caroline Polachek popped out with big vocals over some seriously catchy beats. Now, on her second full length solo effort under her given name, she mixes in more of the same, but expands on the dance themes and hypnotic electronic beats. Desire, I Want To Turn Into You progresses past her last outing, Pang, released in 2019, as her ethereal voice shines through and you hear influences from pych rock to dream pop – there is even some acoustic flamenco guitar on this (track 4, “Sunset”)! The lyrics and vibe are on the sensual side – and you feel the heat on several of the tracks.

Track 3, “Bunny Is A Rider,” is a song I’ve heard since last year, as she released it before the completion of this album. It is slick groove that begs the listener to sing along to the funky repeated chorus. She mixes in ambient sounds with the first track, “Welcome To My Island,” which starts off with robotic vocals and a mid-80s synth sound. “Sunset,” (track 4) is a pure delight, as flamenco guitar travels underneath her quick vocal staccato – feels like a Summer breeze along the shores of a Latin American beach. “Butterfly Net,” track 10, is a slower paced affair that allows Polachek to let her voice carry and take you to a magical place. “Billions,” the last track on the album is comprised of strong and dirty tone that evolves into a children’s choir chorus, showing the variety of sound on this album and the pure joy Polachek must be having with this collection of tunes.

Not to be overlooked is her collaboration with Grimes and Dido on track 7, “Fly To You,” a poppy, hoppy track that has the remix vibe already on it. The percussion on this track drives the echoey cloud busting vocals from all three singers.

My favorites are 1**, 3**, 4**, 12**, 5*, and 7*.

– (h)earwitness