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NEW MUSIC VIDEO -
Love is Surgery: https://youtu.be/uLUjVFRQePk
STREAM: https://kittensslaydragons.bandcamp.com
Written
by Craig Bowles, posted by blog admin
Kittens
Slay Dragons is the electronic music project of singer/songwriter Sarah Donner
and there’s no point during Big Big Heart when it sounds like a stylistic
experiment. It sounds like a complete realized artistic and musical work that
references Donner’s life in accessible ways and features songwriting that
details others’ experiences as well. Despite the electronic nature of Big Big
Heart, it never loses its warmth and heart – much of this is, surely, the
result of Donner’s strengths as a melodic songwriter. She has an unique lyrical
sensibility that serves the material well yet possess an understated
conversational eloquence unlike many similar efforts in the style. The attitude
infusing the songwriting is quite modern while still showing a complete mastery
of fundamentals that supersede genre and sound – fundamentals that are,
instead, the bedrock of popular song.
The
first song “Gatekeeper” starts with a smattering of synth notes before a steady
rhythm launches us off. Donner’s voice comes in soon after and, despite a light
nasal quality to her tone, she sounds authoritative from the start and soon
becomes the guiding emotional force of this release. Her approach to electronic
music renders the form somewhat dreamlike – effects some to coalesce in Kittens
Slay Dragons’ songs and the effect of the songwriting accumulates over time
rather than arriving all at once. There’s a suggestion of the painter in this
approach and she, indeed, uses the electronic instruments as conduits of color
for these songs. “Smile Pretty” probably better embodies this than any other
song on Big Big Heart. While Donner’s turn with this style shows off her
talents for crafting direct, straight-forward numbers in this vein, this song
shows her ability for going in a more atmospheric direction. It has a
substantive lyrical message as well that she never communicates in a heavy
handed way.
“Love
Is Surgery” combines the straight-forward style with her more artful touches
and succeeds. The multi-tracked vocals are a nice touch for a singer already
possessing enough pipes alone to carry the material. The arrangement, likewise,
has a patiently simmering quality. Minimalist verses build to an impassioned,
well orchestrated chorus and the percussion does an excellent job mimicking the
beat of a heart. The title song has some of the same patiently simmering
qualities and Donner distinguishes herself with a flexible vocal capable of
great sensitivity and towering emotional peaks. The insistent pulse beginning “Under
the Waves” does a great job of scene setting before the synths join and Donner
tackles the album’s sole duet. Her vocal partner wisely provides a counterpoint
that accentuates his strengths while never attempting to supersede her
importance to the song. It’s an interesting performance, as well, thanks to how
it maintains such a restrained temperament throughout and yet hooks you into
its web.
The
album’s penultimate song, “Eggs”, has a muscularly soulful vocal from Donner
and a rough-hewn arrangement quite different from anything else on Big Big
Heart. The vocal melody stands out thanks to its cascading effect, but it’s the
tension this song generates without ever quite exploding the way you expect
that makes it especially notable. The song’s playful nature, as well, sets it
at odds with the album’s finale “Head Down, Heart Up”. You can’t help but
notice and admire the dogged determination behind the title, lyrics, and Donner’s
exultant voice, but it’s a richer song for how it tacitly acknowledges that
moments like this are products of struggle. Kittens Slay Dragons has produced
one of the deeper, yet still faithful to the genre, electronic efforts you’ll
ever hear. This is a songwriter behind this stuff, folks, and she makes every
track count.
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