KWORB
REVIEW #1: 90/100
tornado : As I'm diving into the lyrics of this track, It feels like someone is opening their heart to me and leaving an immense room for vulnerability. This track is a great opener as it sets the tone for the rest of the album.
good at sports: Probably the most beautifully song written on the album, moving and personal.
now you're sad: This track is most definitely faithful to the first two, it's truly like reading somebody's heart. There's a particular lyric that is striking: "And I can’t deny I love you so much, But it hurts when you try to hurt me". The pain reflected in this song is proof that lyrics can trigger emotions and move you in ways you wouldn't imagine, it's another beautifully written song that is both heart-breaking and empowering at the same time.
codependent: This song was for me the most relatable track on the album, it makes us reflect on love and how much pain it can bring to you. Singing this track out-loud felt like the lyrics were written for me which is the greatest thing that can happen when you write a song; creating a connection with the listener.
seasonal friend: This track is yet another relatable track, it reminisces about mistakes and guilt in a open letter about learning to accept and let go.
sorry i never call: This song is hands down the best on the album, it speaks to you in ways that only a great song can. We never think about losing our loved ones until the day it happens, this track is so personal but at the same time relatable. It definitely makes us more self-aware and hopefully this track encourages all of us to be better humans and give worth to what we still have.
victim complex: Not my favorite but a good track nonetheless.
the skeleton & me: This one could have been a great closer, it doesn't grab me as much as the other songs but it has its place and purpose on the album. It's the most unapologetic track on the album.
chasing the tornado: Wrapping the theme of the album, this was a great album closer. It leaves us on a happier note with the marvelous production.
Beautiful, honest and self-reflection are the 3 words that describe this album the best. I give it an overall score of 90 out of 100.
REVIEW #2: 82/100
TAFKACA
the skeletons i hide in my closet
82/100
Arriving under a wave of mystery, TAFKACA has released a concise debut album titled "the skeletons i hide in my closet". The project came with very little prior announcement save for a pre-order (of sorts) and an early release free track. At just nine tracks and a snappy runtime, we don't get long to spend with the artist as she works her through what is evidently a deeply personal and confessional record. Dealing with a variety of topics such as depression, fallen romance, and even the dynamic between parent and child, it's without question one of the most emotionally charged projects that we've heard in quite some time. Coupled with the minimalistic production and soft soundscape, it's easy to let the music wash all over you and get swept up inside the wave of emotions that crashes in every track.
The standout tracks from the album, "good at sports" and "victim complex", represent everything about the album that works best. The writing on these songs and indeed the rest of the album itself follows an uncommon structure. We're not always presented with rhymes, not always treated to verse-chorus-verse. It often feels like the song's flows are dictated by whatever message they need to get across. This unpredictable pattern makes for a varied listening experience and keeps the album from ever feeling like it's growing boring. Couple the odd structure choices of the songs with the unique lyrical style and we're given something that's purely indie.
The album isn't anything that mainstream artists have attempted to do in quite some time. The lack of label voice in any matter allows this album to feel incredibly homemade and natural. Nothing about it feels as if it's been calculated for success and that's a relief to hear in an album these days. Looking at songs like "seasonal friend", it's difficult to imagine that a major label would accept it for release. Not that it's bad, it's very good, but because it wouldn't fit in on the mainstream Hot 100. It'd be a standout and hard for general audiences to find interest in. But this isn't an album that was made for commercial purposes. In many ways it's anti-commercial sentiments are one of it's most notable features.
The album, for all that it does to impress, isn't perfect however. As much as it's lack of major label interference acts as a plus, the lack of support from experienced minds does detract in other areas. Perhaps the biggest flaw in the album is that in many places it sounds unfinished. Some of the songs such as "codependent" and "chasing the tornado" lyrically feel like sketches rather than completed songs. What we're presented with isn't horrendously bad like some recent unfinished sounding albums have given us, but it does disappoint considering good ideas are seen within them and elsewhere on the album we're shown just how good things can be when a song is brought to the point of nirvana.
Adding to the generally unfinished vibe of some of the tracks is that some of these songs don't sound entirely consistent with the rest of the record as if they were pulled from other places and slotted into this album's track list. Though there's not really a concept to speak of on the record, most of the songs sound consistent with one another in their subject matter but on one of the albums best tracks ("seasonal friend") feels removed from the rest of the album in what it discusses. It thankfully doesn't keep the song from being fantastic but it's noticeable how much it swerves into different territory.
The sparsity of the arrangements can also make the album somewhat difficult in places. There's absolutely nothing wrong with a more stripped down album and indeed those kinds of albums tend to be some of the best of their respective years. But as we near the end of this one, some of the soundscapes begin to sound as if they're cut from too similar a cloth to other tracks on the album. For all of the lyrical unpredictability, it gets easier to predict where the album will head musically which is unfortunate considering how exciting most of the other choices are.
As an overall body of work "the skeletons i hide in my closet" is an interesting under the radar product. It's the antithesis of the major releases we've heard recently and it carries with a vintage and almost rustic charm. The creativity of the writing and the commitment to being against the grain leaves us with an interesting oddity that produces no real weak tracks. Unfortunately, it's short runtime, occasional lack of consistency, and lack of creative arrangements to match it's creative lyrics leave some holes and due to the homemade nature of it, those holes are more noticeable than on some of the more big named releases. The album does wonderful work to create interest for this artist moving forward and it'd be hard to say at the end of it that you wouldn't be interested in hearing more.
tornado 8/10
good at sports 10/10
now you're sad 8/10
codependent 7/10
seasonal friend 9/10
sorry i never call 7/10
victim complex 10/10
the skeletons and me 8/10
chasing the tornado 7/10
REVIEW #3: 85/100
Formerly known as Christina Aguilera, T.A.F.K.A.C.A. takes aims at carving out a new folksy, dream pop sound with the subtle release of ‘the skeletons i hide in my closet’. To open up in somewhat a fury of rage is the rhythmic ‘tornado’. With its light yet energetic production, ‘tornado’ explores Aguilera’s anger through its lyrics, expressing how this pending threat is tearing her down. While short and structurally unconventional, ‘tornado’ marks a powerful album opening, setting course for the rest of the album. Following the shear force that ‘tornado’ carries comes the far more serene ‘good at sports’. While the contrasting productions sets listeners up for a heartwarming ballad, the gut-wrenching lyrics rip into the singer’s broken relationship and personal vulnerabilities. The alternative style which the singer takes enables a greater lyrical flexibility, to her own advantage. Notably, ‘good at sports’ offers what most pop music lyrics, brute honesty. And the alluring hook lines and descriptive details elevate that element to make for a notable release. Predicting my mood after hearing ‘good at sports’ comes ‘now you’re sad’, another shocking truthful song. While lacking some of the most emotional sucker punch of ‘good at sports’, ‘now you’re sad’ offers a more traditional pop style that makes it an evident future single choice, should the singer want a possible hit.
Further pulling at heartstrings, the soothing melody over the ‘codependent’ guitar strings immediately reminded me of ‘The Night We Met’, leading to a short pause from this review to listen to that 13RW anthem. The yet again detailed lyrics of ‘codependent’ paint a picture in listeners heads, while charming their ears with the beat. ‘seasonal friend’ continues this visual-stimulus, talking about reuniting with someone after some time, as the singer comments on their changed dynamic through descriptions of their physical appearances. While having a somewhat less emotional guitar riff and feeling less dynamic at times, ‘seasonal friend’ solidifies the stylistic choice of ‘the skeletons i hide in my closet”. The seriousness of the album picks up with the somewhat shocking ‘sorry i never call’, ad it analyzes the singer’s fear of death in a very blunt way. Crying out to listeners, the song is matched with a poppy yet stripped back guitar beat, continuing the album’s general sonic direction. To me, ‘sorry i never call’ is not one of those tracks which listeners immediately love, for a number of reasons. However, upon further listen, it is clear that the surprising lyrical content and somewhat dissatisfying beat matching makes for this discomfort, rather than because the song lacks musical quality.
Thankfully ‘victim complex’ makes up for its predecessors inconsistencies through the more sober instrumentation matching perfectly with the song which unpacks Aguilera’s mental health struggles and personal pain. ‘victim complex’ touches on a wide variety of issues in a straightforward tone, sharing her experiences in a storytelling way rather than by relying in metaphors. In doing so, the singer delivers one of the album’s greatest highlights, trading incessant complexity for pure directness. ‘the skeletons & me’ continue this deep dive by the singer be admitting her shortcomings and “antics”. Matched with another serene beat, the track opens up in a humorous tone while offering a somewhat troubling look into the superstar’s emotional wellbeing. Closing off the album comes ‘chasing the tornado’, as the star goes full-circle with the opening track. Finishing off the story as she journey’s away, “T.A.F.K.A.C.A.” (aka Christina Aguilera) carries the record home.
While a sonic lightyear away from ‘Desperately Seeking Christina’, the concept album approach to the singer’s music continues on this record. And seemingly, at least as the lyrics go-to-show, the star continues to struggle with her identity and embracing herself. However, the album makes hints towards finding ways to cope with her choices in life and strikes a strongly reflective tone, developing a monumental record. ‘the skeletons i hide in my closet’ offers the rawness that many artists search for, yet against Aguilera seems to be uniquely posed at actually finding it. For a surprise album with stripped back production, this record marks one of this year’s best releases yet. I know who got my Album of the Year vote.
REVIEW #4: 80/100
There isn’t even much of an introduction to write here honestly! I mean, who is this girl? No one knows. Where did she come from? No one knows. Why are we reviewing this then? No one knows! And yet here we are. Listening to her digital only release that no one saw coming, bar the release of album track “good at sports” a few days prior to the album and even a minor shout out from Christina Aguilera (suspicious?). Not a load of back story with this one, which perhaps makes it one of the most interesting releases in recent memory. So let’s have a listen!
Tornado is a really interesting opening! I really like this one. Lyrically, it’s beautifully written. Incredibly raw as well. You can sense a kind of frustration in the lyrics and almost an aggressive like tone which works with the whole tornado idea (which she comes back to later on in the album!). Production wise, this is a really strong track and for sure one of the most interesting ones on the album. ‘Good at sports’ is potentially my favourite off the whole record. The use of the firefly imagery, the stripped back instrumental and the overall stunning lyrics make this nothing short of a phenomenal track. My only issue with the album is the next few songs feel a little one and the same. Lyrically they’re all stunning which is no surprise but the overall sound of the tracks to little to distinguish themselves from each other. Not that any of them are bad per say, they just don’t stand out like the first two tracks do.
This starts to pick up when we get to ‘sorry i never call’ which is another personal favourite from the album! The production of the track starts to evolve a bit from the previous tracks which help it distinguish itself. Lyrically, while the rest of the tracks are strong, this one is like a gutpunch. By the last lines you WILL be crying otherwise you don’t have a soul. I don’t make the rules! But yeah, absolutely gorgeously written and composed track and a real highlight of the album. Victim complex is another really nice track that takes the album in a slightly new direction while accompanying it with her usual stunning lyricism but the last two tracks kind of suffer the same issue for me as before.
Overall, the album is really solid. I know I've spoken a bit about how parts of the album blend together and I stand by that, but that doesn’t change the fact that each song on it’s own is beautifully written and has a charming sound to it. Tracks like good at sports and sorry i never call especially highlight this. Definitely one of the most stunningly written albums i’ve heard! I just wish the album kept things fresh sonically to keep some of the songs from blending together the way they do. Despite that, it’s still a really good album and I can’t stress that enough. It’s incredibly raw, emotional and all in all a pleasure to listen through.