Vows [Jewel Case Edition]

Spending her early years gigging around her native New Zealand, it was only once Kimbra borrowed a small eight-track recorder from her school’s music department that her song writing blossomed in earnest. This new tool opened up a new perspective, leading to a flurry of tracks that featured her signature layered vocals, including the inkling that became single ‘Settle Down’. Discovered at the tender age of 17, Kimbra relocated to Melbourne to follow her musical path.

Kimbra’s debut record Vows, three and-a-half years in the making, charts not only her growth and development musically over this time, but personally as well. Recorded and arranged at home as well as in various studios, it presents her unique worldview on life and love. Even at twenty-one years of age, Kimbra already possesses the maturity and musical sophistication of the mavericks she is so often compared to – from vocal legends Nina Simone and Jeff Buckley, to radicals the likes of Prince, and contemporary artists such as Björk and Janelle Monaé.

Kimbra self-produced Vows alongside Australian Urban export M-Phazes (Amerie, Pharoahe Monch) and the refined skills of François Tétaz (Bertie Blackman, Gotye); whose focus on imagery taught her to treat the album like a film.

Vows establishes Kimbra as a significant talent. A fresh, exciting voice in today’s music industry.

I reviewed Kimbra’s debut release the other week. Kimbra is now known to millions now by her cameo in Gotye’s gangbusters song Somebody I Used to Know (side note: I guarantee you at least 99% of reviews of Kimbra’s record will begin making the same contextual reference to Gotye…including mine). Since then, the record got picked up by Triple J, who made it the album of the week and have (probably) been playing it like crazy. Of course, this inevitably means the record attracts the cynicism of those who are not partial to the brutal reign of King Kingsmill the First. Usually, I am front centre of this pack of baying wolves, but I this time, I’m absent. I still think Vows is a pretty good record, even a week after I’ve reviewed it.
Rave Magazine (where the review was published) requires a star rating. I gave it 4.5 stars. I don’t usually give records such a rating (often to the shock of Bon Iver fans). I still stand by it, despite the creeping cynicism of my peers. It’s an enjoyable record; I could listen to it over and over and still enjoy it.

What follows is my over the top gushing.

KIMBRA – Vows
Monday, 29 August 2011
(Warner Music)
Marry me, Kimbra
Every woman and her dog should know about pop sensation Kimbra by now. The New Zealand-born musician’s bri­lliant cameo on Gotye’s immensely popular single Somebody I Used To Know has almost instantaneously catapulted her to celebrity in this corner of the world. But in spite of the sudden fame, Kimbra has achieved notable individual recognition, managing to win both the Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition and taking out the Top 40 category in the International Songwriting Competition. And sceptics, be assured – her debut record Vows makes it abundantly clear that Kimbra is, and will continue to be, a force to be reckoned with. Vows is a record that seeks to explore the familiar and yet confusing angles of love, relying on soulful moments to draw out romance’s pitfalls and idiosyncrasies, and ‘90s-inspired pop music to tackle more brazen aspects. This approach is clearly observable in the record’s initial tracks. Lead single Settle Down deliciously ambles along the fine boundary between soul and R&B, pushing us towards a starry-eyed chorus filled with romantic naivety, making one all gooey in the process. The outrageously boppy Cameo Lover is more bubblegum but equally as smart, showing Kimbra as someone acutely aware that flexibility breeds longevity in the modern pop landscape. What follows is not nearly as assertive as the record’s opening numbers, but continues to demonstrate Kimbra’s enviable musicianship. I love how the great cover of Nina Simone’s Plain Gold Ring is neatly juxtaposed with the flirtatious Call Me. It’s astonishing that at age 21, Kimbra has managed to produce a debut record that so vividly captures this multitude of moods and emotion, traversing longing, lust and uncertainty with such assurance. Vows proves to be immensely satisfying, so you might as well get on the Kimbra bandwagon now – because she’s going to be huge.

****½
DARRAGH MURRAY