SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: KIM DEAL – NOBODY LOVES YOU MORE

KIM DEAL
NOBODY LOVES YOU MORE
4AD

When you hear the words “Kim Deal’s first solo album”, you’d be forgiven for expecting to hear more of the same clattering rhythms and incongruous lyricism that made her a behemoth of the alternative rock scene for the last three decades.

Of course, because you’re expecting it, that’s exactly what doesn’t happen.

The distinctive vocals, half-crunch, half-wail, echoing many memories of the ‘90s, is still there, but the music takes off everywhere. The off-beat and discordant opener “Nobody Loves You More” tells us immediately we’re going on a very unexpected journey. That’s backed up further by the shocking grandiosity (who could’ve imagined swing on a Kim Deal record?) of the big-band-backed “Coast”–bringing to mind the seaside, of course–to create a solid opening.

Then, just when you’ve settled in with your whisky and cigars in the comfy blues bar, Deal pops out the insane electronica of “Crystal Breath”, which sounds and feels like it should be pounding out of radios for the next six months. It’s a hit from the off and undoubtedly highlights the album.

The whole album continues in the same vein: there’s Mazzy Star-like dreaminess on “Are You Mine?”, a romping-stomping rock track in “Disobedience”, and even a song that feels like a throwback to her days on the low notes with the Pixies in the crashing weirdness of “Big Ben Beat”.

Nothing fits, but that’s the point – it’s four decades of experience distilled into an eclectic, fun, and eminently listenable album. Hopefully there’s more to come.

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