Revisited: Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want To Turn Into You (Part 1)
Possibly Album of the Year?
It's been ten months since this album came out and quite honestly, it's an album I can't stop listening to. I discovered Caroline Polachek through TikTok when her track So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings took off there last year.
Looking back at my listening stats on Last.fm, I had added the track to my library last year and pretty much slept on Caroline until the holiday season. If I recall correctly, I remember seeing So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings come on in my shuffle and said to myself, "I should check out the rest of this album." Boy, am I glad I did. Fast forward a few months and Pang quickly became an album I couldn't stop listening to and Caroline was on the verge of releasing a new album, Desire, I Want To Turn Into You.
How well does this album hold up ten months later with nearly 500 plays? Let’s find out together.
Welcome to My Island
Right from the start, I have to say: what a way to open an album. I remember the controversy surrounding this track when the album first came out. People were accusing Caroline of using autotune for the intro to this track. The clapback from her was excellent. She proved to the world that, yes, she does have that wide of a vocal range. And as you'll see me write as we go through this album together, Caroline has a very impressive vocal range and is able to manipulate her tone in a way that very few people can.
With that being said, I think Welcome to My Island is one of the weaker tracks on the album. It’s one of those tracks I only listen to when I’m listening to the album top to bottom. It took me quite a while for me to come around to this track. Now, I understand why it's here. It's one of my favorite album openers, from any artist. It gives you a peek into what's to come.
Rhythmic vocals, spacious instrumentation without being overly complex, and great storytelling. There’s not much else to say.
Pretty in Possible
Clever wordplay aside, Pretty in Possible is possibly one of my favorite tracks on this album. For a second track, it immediately pulled me in and grabbed my attention. It's very complex sonically, which is right up my alley.
I love how once again, the song opens with just her voice. And not only did it open up with her voice, you're once again presented with the non-verbal, rhythmic vocals. “da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da, hmm.”
Then, you immediately jump into the first verse with that very in-your-face drum beat. Very loud, very attention grabbing, but very tastefully done. While it's in your face, it still gives Caroline's vocals space down the center. If you listen very carefully you'll hear the use of a triangle out of the right channel. It's very very low in the mix and you might miss it if you're paying attention to the bit-crushed shaker as well, which is a good distractor.
Then you have the transition from the first chorus into the second verse. And transition is the right word as you'll notice a high-pass filter at play here, throwing all of the high-frequencies out the window. This continues into the second verse. Once again, if you listen carefully, you'll hear some strings coming out of the right channel very briefly. You'll actually miss this if you're not listening for it as it doesn't come back for the remainder of the track. This type of “single-use” sound reminds me of quite a few Michael Jackson tracks. He was known for adding in an instrument that plays for a few notes then disappears completely for the rest of the track.
Those rhythmic vocals come back in towards the end of the song. And systematically, you hear those low-frequency bass notes get stripped away, leaving you with just Caroline's vocal track, the strings, and the hi-hats. By the end of the track, all you get is the strings and her voice. In Caroline’s Tiny Desk session with NPR, it actually goes full circle and ends with just her vocal.
One thing I love most about this song is the the almost complete lack of backing vocals. And when we do get backing vocals, it's purely Caroline in her normal talking voice filling in the space.
Bunny Is A Rider
Bunny Is A Rider is a track where if this were my first time listening to the album, I'd think would be a lead single. A classic radio-pop song. But I quickly realized that's not the case at all.
Starting from that very first verse, the xylophone is holding the song together. It leads the way. It then gets thrown out during the first pre-chorus, chorus, and first half of the second verse. It only temporarily comes back in the second half of the second verse.
That electronic tom coming out of the left channel replaces what would traditionally be a hi-hat or cymbal pattern. It pairs nicely with the snap coming out of the right channel and the kick drum right down the middle.
The percussion on this track is fantastic. From the different guitars, triangles, hi-hat patterns and synths. I could spend all day talking about how things are thrown at you and taken away, but that would be another 1,000 words. It’s very percussion forward.
And of course, to end the track, the synth coming out of the right channel just for four bars. In essence, Bunny Is A Rider is a track where you close your eyes and enjoy the instrumentation.
Sunset
And then there's Sunset. An actual radio-pop dance song. From the very first guitar strum, you know it's gonna be a song you'll want to get on your feet and dance to. The guitar layering is genius. It makes someone like me, who is a trained listener, question whether that's yet another guitar layer or a pulsating synth. The bass plays a key part here too, taking the "follow that other instrument" approach throughout the track.
Caroline is once again using her voice as an instrument going into the pre-chorus. She's humming right along with the synth and viola. This repeats with the later pre-choruses.
The second verse/bridge (quite frankly, I'm not sure where one ends and the other begins) is beautiful. Those rhythmic vocals come in again, taking center stage. She closes out the song with these same vocals. It’s one of the tracks on the album where I’m listening more for the vocals than the instrumentation.
The percussion is used sparingly throughout the track but compliments it well. For example, the claps throughout the second verse all the way up to the end of the song. Sunset is a song that will satisfy both the rhythmic and vocal listener.
Crude Drawing of an Angel
After four upbeat tracks, Crude Drawing of an Angel steps it down a few notches. It's hard to describe how this track makes me feel. I almost want to say this is an audible representation of what's traditionally called abstract art. I'd argue this track is Caroline's version of an “acoustic” track.
There's no real structure to the track, in the traditional sense. There's no verse, chorus, or bridge. It just... flows. Unsurprisingly, it works. Even though the song's composition is fairly basic, the soundstage is very wide. If you get a chance to listen to this track on high-end speakers, I would.
Things that stood out to me are the backing vocals with heavy reverb added and the spoken word vibe. Lyrically, the song is quite literal and paints a crude drawing of an angel.
I Believe
One thing that stood out to me immediately with this track is the "ah"'s that are sung out of the left channel every fourth note from the very first second of the song going into the pre-chorus. In which, it switches into an actual synth. It switches back and forth throughout the rest of the song, which is super cute.
I Believe was the point in the album that I realized that Caroline likes to keep her songs simple for the intro and first verse. There's no momentum building. It just goes from simple composition to a full-on dance party.
I love the switch up in the bass line here. It switches between this "dig deep" thumping bass to a much higher "bouncier" bass throughout the track while maintaining the same rhythm. The stabs add an extra layer of intensity to the song as well.
Near the end of the track, Caroline is singing quite a few high notes, which is always impressive. I love that the song starts and ends with the same "Look over the edge, but not too far" line.
Lyrically, I'm in love with the chorus of this song. It's inspirational. "I don't know, but I believe. We'll get another day together. Violent love, feel my embrace, oh. No I don't know, but I believe."
Conclusion
So here we are. Halfway through the first half of the album. As a rhythmic and sonic listener, these first six songs are heavenly.
I think Caroline is one of those artists who are relatively small (2.34 million monthly Spotify listeners) but has a very loyal fanbase. It hasn't even been a year since I've started regularly listening to her music, yet I can't stop. Caroline Polachek is already a top four artist for me and she'll more than likely make her way into my top three top streamed by the end of the year.
If that isn't foreshadowing how I feel about the second half of the album, I'm not sure what is. Anyway, I can't wait to write my thoughts on the second half of this album.
For now, stream Desire, I Want To Turn Into You on your favorite streaming platform.
Note: This breakdown was written after listening to this album with Qobuz via Roon. I’ve primarily been using Qobuz via Roon when listening to this album. As far as I can remember, I’ve also listened to this album in the past with Tidal Hi-Fi Plus, Qobuz (direct), and Apple Music (24-bit at 44.1kHz).