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- February 13, 2023
Kimbra’s New Album, A Reckoning, Proves to Be Colorfully Introspective and Brilliant
Two-time Grammy award-winning artist, Kimbra, has just released her new album, A Reckoning via Inertia / [PIAS]. The album is meant to be “a reckoning” and recognition of the feminine archetype in our society, along with the transformation pain and conflict bring to our internal being.
Kimbra’s first song of the album was released with its music video back in October of last year, titled “save me.” With echoing instrumentals and blended melodies, Kimbra creates a hypnotic transcendence of sound that captivates the mind. As the lyrics indicate, there’s a desperation about the song – where Kimbra is begging someone to save her from herself: “So go on and save me / I’m sinking into my feelings / And I’m scared they’re gonna drown my confidence.” The music video is one that’s incredibly thought-provoking apart from the breathtaking views and awe-inspiring landscapes of Iceland.
“We shot in the month of June 2021. Mornings were cold and icy, the wind cut like razors… but I felt like a true warrior marching across that blistered earth, with black sands underneath me and those hovering cliffs towering above me. I was reminded of those who first walked these environments; what were they thinking when they saw this new world?”
The next song of the album was also released last year in November, in tandem with the music video. “Replay!” bounces off the same theme of reliance with “save me,” except it’s not willingly. Rather, Kimbra seems to be annoyed by her reliance and obsession with memories she wants to forget. She expands on these emotional themes in a statement, explaining:
“I’m interested in the motivations behind our anger and compulsive tendencies. I wanted to make a song that depicted two sides of my internal experience, one is chaotic but the other is very in control, introspective and calm… This song is about the experience of being on loop. There’s this movie going around in my head replaying both the beautiful and the terrifying times during a relationship. But there’s also an inability to let go. Hanging onto the pain made me feel like this person was still in my life. There was an addictive quality to the cycle, even though I knew it was time to face and release it.”
“Gun” is the third song on the tracklist and gives an addictive beat and edge to Kimbra’s music, standing out from the rest. You can sense the anger and frustration in her voice on the trials she’s faced to make it this far: “I earned my right to fight this way / Was misunderstood and underpaid / I licked the dust and I liked the taste.”
The fourth song on the album is titled, “the way we were.” Once again, Kimbra successfully differentiates this song from the rest by combining jazzy undertones with pop, singing about the initial feelings felt in an exciting relationship. “New habit” also brings a catchy beat and love-themed quality that sets itself apart from the rest of the album. Whereas “the way we were” emphasizes the end of a relationship, “new habit” emphasizes the beginning – where lust is high and stress is low.
“Hey, me, me again. Um, just wanted to say that the last few weeks with you have been amazing. It’s been so much fun. Like, I really, really loved hanging out with you. Um, I’m not looking for anything too serious at the moment. But, like, definitely keep in touch with me. You know, you got my number. +44, all the, all the, all the digits.”
“GLT,” or “girl like that,” is the next song – and as you can see from the intro above, it’s one that grabs your attention from the jump. This song’s theme seems to be about the tropes associated with gender roles in dating and features both Kimbra and Erick the Architect rapping.
Track seven also has an R&B feel with Tommy Raps and Pink Siifu featured in “la type.” As Kimbra has shown, she’s not your typical “girl” – and certainly not an LA girl. Despite many of the previous songs being light-hearted and upbeat, the next is the focus track of the album and proves to be one of the most vulnerable songs Kimbra has to offer.
“I wrote [‘foolish thinking’] at the piano in a matter of hours. It started as a letter to my future daughter but quickly partnered with melody. It felt as though I were channeling my future self; a Mother trying to protect her child from pain while understanding that they must experience adversity to grow. I was imagining the loss of control when you realize the most loving thing is to let go. Having Ryan [Lott] sing the second verse added a beautiful dimension because he has the actual lived experience of being a father so could perform my words from a very personal place. I feel there’s a lot of expectation on mothers to have it all figured out before they pass on their blueprint to the next generation. I wanted to make a song that would ease that external pressure a little, because we will always be learning right alongside them.”
“Personal space” is the eighth track of the album and brings Kimbra back to her pop-jazz vocals and synchronous instrumentals, while “i don’t want to fight” (the last track of the album) is a more somber and intimate song about the struggle and mourning of a failing relationship.
Each song is unique in its own right – none of them being similar to the next – that gives a refreshing and utterly genuine aura to the album. It’s important to recognize that creating a different melody, vocal quality, and overall dimension of sound production is no small feat – that Kimbra and her team truly immersed themselves in delivering an album that listeners would enjoy and love. Brava to Kimbra, for capturing an entirely raw and prolific album.
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