Planted between chromatic saxophone swells, honeydew
tongues of piano and eddying synth pulses, the childish
coo of Caroline Lufkin discloses a fey, unabashed sentimentalism
that is hard to dislike. Perhaps never is this more
prevalent than on Lufkin's first single, Where’s
My Love, which initially garnered her many a comparison
to the coltish capers of Björk
and Múm. The track
is sprinkled with glistening chimes, breathy vocals,
and snapping beats, sketching a breezy, nocturnal atmosphere
that unfurls about one like a warm breeze.
For all that, the spell does not last long. With the
first few visits, one acknowledges that pieces are polished,
clean, and smooth, but upon further inspection, this
orderly, polite state of affairs soon begins to bear
a hint of fabrication. Crunchy, rattling beats are generic
and hollow, the plaintive horns a trifle saccharine,
and the piano motifs, dreamy and slender, have something
distinctly Walt Disney about them. On Everylittlething,
Lufkin attempts to fill out her character, pumping a
crunchy, disco pulse into the heart of the track, but
the crossover seems forced, and dressed in these sexy,
slightly dark electro beats, her elfish voice is about
as uncomfortable to watch as a young girl traipsing
off to some raunchy club.
This is not to dismiss Murmurs altogether.
Lufkin's lyrical penchants, though often soaked with
sentimentality, are also playful, and descriptive, offering
up handfuls of unusual, specific perspectives on childhood
memories, relationships, and the like. With the song
I’ll Leave My Heart Behind, moreover,
she invests more of herself in the construction of the
piece, providing an electronic backdrop that gurgles
and boils with a vigor and discordant spark in its eyes
that was altogether absent in earlier moments. On a
whole, however, all of these nursery-rhymes and purling
soap bubbles of electronics have difficulties pointing
to anything beyond banalities.
Max Schaefer
2.8/5 |
