On that record, she drew parallels between herself and the titular spider, for which performing is a matter of life and death: if a sparklemuffin fails to impress a potential mate with its dance, it’s literally eaten alive.
Her follow-up record, Loveland, comes a few months shy of two years since Sparklemuffin—now as an executive producer and credited lyricist for each track. She even recorded vocals for “Seasons” when she was under the weather. With dozens of people and instruments listed in Loveland’s credits (Mick Fleetwood even plays the drums on “Morals”), her passion as a musician is commendable. Despite the love evidently poured into the album, however, the record is overstuffed with half-baked ideas.
Most of the songs are pleasant enough. The album’s main strength is how instrumentally rich it undeniably is. “Back In Love”, for instance, kicks off Loveland with lively layers of brass and woodwind by Samuel Ewens and Gareth Lumbers. Several songs like “Notting Hill”, which is reminiscent of Elton John’s soft rock cuts, contain electric guitar solos – a welcome addition to almost any tune.
However, the vocals plunked on top are dull, drowned out by the walls of sound in the background. For instance, Waterhouse sticks to her lower-mid register for the bulk of “Any Man”. The exception is its fantastic midsection, in which her dramatic mezzo, ascending into a striking head voice, calls Marina Diamandis to mind. Waterhouse brags about being able to bag any man, so the bored-seeming delivery is probably no accident. Still, even with that in mind, it’s not a rewarding listening experience.
It doesn’t help that Waterhouse’s voice is smothered in reverb for most of Loveland. Some of the stronger tracks – particularly the groovy “Happy With It”, cute rockabilly homage “Jukebox”, power-pop love anthem “Tiny Raisin”, and harmony-filled “Teardrops” – suffer a bit because of this approach.
Loveland’s finest moments allow Waterhouse’s voice to breathe. In “When I Get Drunk (I Want You Boy)”, she croons soulful melismas. Her vocals sound relatively raw, with actual dynamics instead of staying static. “Seasons” is one of the album’s simplest, yet most effective, tracks. Aaron Dessner’s repetitive piano note serves as a potent pedal point. The song is elevated by a laser-eyed focus on creating beautiful melodies and structure. Another highlight is “Puppy Dog Eyes”, a straightforward attempt at grungy pop-rock. Loveland shimmers when a song doesn’t try to do everything at once.
Penultimate track “Loveland” is clearly meant to be the album’s climax. It falls flat due to the issues mentioned above, but the closing song “Weirdo” is a worthier pay-off. Joel Little’s musical arrangement is glorious – the swelling strings complement the song’s ethereal vocals.
Fortunately for Waterhouse, she isn’t a spider whose existence depends on always performing well, but an established musical act with a massive network of collaborators at her disposal. Loveland may not be the most compelling project, but it’s earnest, with glimmers of brilliance. Suki Waterhouse will be alright.
