Molly Burch - Romantic Images

Eine aus Austin, Texas, stammende Singer/Songwriterin, die Jazzgesang studiert hat…

… und auf ihrem dritten Album mit allen Erwartungen und Gepflogenheiten bricht.

Molly Burch taucht auf „Romantic Images“ in leicht plätschernde Disco-Gewässer ab und badet in sanft schmachtendem Synth-Pop. Historische Vorbilder sollen Blondie, Madonna und Maria Carey sein, für Parallelen zu aktuellen Künstlern fallen mir die Namen Wild Nothing, Beach House und vor allem Tennis ein. Und tatsächlich, Alaina Moore und Patrick Riley, die zusammen das Duo Tennis bilden, sind als Musiker und Produzenten in dieses klanglich überraschende Album involviert. 

Freunde der Schallplatte haben gleich vier limitierte Auflagen von „Romantic Images“ zur Auswahl: Coke Bottle Clear  Vinyl, Translucent Lemonade Vinyl, Bone and Magenta Swirl Vinyl und Pink Vinyl.

 

What has endured, though, is Burch’s knack for a melody: the topline of ‘Heart of Gold’ skips around its arrangement with a filigree playfulness, and the second-half run of ‘Took a Minute’, ‘Emotion’, and ‘Honeymoon Phase’, a trio of propulsive, breezily Daft Punkian pop songs that are as effortless as they are addictive, house more hooks than most top-40 albums do in their entirety. 

Having proved her chops, then, it’s a shame Burch doesn’t carry them across the rest of Romantic Images. Instead, low-stakes rhythmic experiments fall somewhat flat, and the occasional recourse to ’60s jangle breaks the nostalgic spell cast by the album’s highlights. It’s easy to imagine the best of Romantic Images soundtracking John Hughes high-school movies perfectly, not least the ‘Lucky Star’-era Madonna bubblegum of ‘Games’; that the rest is harder to love makes it an album apt for Spotify pruning.

(Loud And Quiet)

 

Burch’s talent as a songwriter and more generally as a crafter of songs shines through on the album. On "Took A Minute", a ballad sounding introduction gives way to an upbeat indie pop melody. These types of transitions add unpredictability, another surprising and satisfying feature of Romantic Images. Although Burch indulges herself in lovelorn lyrics for the entirety of the album, she manages to keep everything fresh and clean even when the tempo slows down.

Hints of Kate Bush and Julia Jacklin are sprinkled throughout as Burch bounces between affection, devotion and infatuation. She never crosses the line into obsession and croons “I want to be careful and kind / find out how to balance that line”. Ending Romantic Images on a note of self-love allows Burch to show the range that could be delved into in the future. 

(In The Line Of Best Fit)