Bless This Mess, the new U.S. Girls album, focuses on Meg Remy's recent childbirth of her two twins along with her experience from it. As a result of the vintage synth pop and disco she pulls from, the results are hit or miss with the highs being pretty high while the lows being pretty low.
Meg Remy is a force. The U.S.-born, Canadian-based musician, singer and songwriter started out in a more independent space producing experimental bedroom pop. Then throughout this second phase of her career, she has collaborated more which has resulted in even better and more profound material that's still seemingly personal. 2015's Half Free burst with this bold, chilling pop expansion while 2018's In a Poem Unlimited pushed this even further, resulting as the best album of that year and of the past decade. 2020's Heavy Light was all in all a solid release from Remy that included an interesting concept of childhood, growing up into adulthood and reflecting back upon it over time. As time has past since its initial release, the concept itself to me is more interesting than a good chunk of the album, especially the deep cuts which don't seem to hold up as well as I hoped they would.
Now three years later comes a new album, this time with a new concept. Bless This Mess, Remy's new album, focuses on her recent childbirth of her two twins along with her experience from it. It's a cool concept, considering that the theme is expressed lyrically and is also approached sonically at points. She's always been heavily influenced by vintage disco and synth pop from the 70's, 80's and beyond. It shows in her work and it clearly becomes more and more apparent with each new record of hers. This can result in some really great work like the disco-infused pop of "M.A.H." or "4 American Dollars." Some of the deeper cuts from her previous album, especially the ballads, sound like they are taken directly from some of the eras of vintage pop from the 70's/80's that I find to be a bit cheesier and a bit more dated. This is partially the reason why some spots on Heavy Light aren't my favorite. It sounds like Heavy Light is simply featuring this type of vintage pop like window dressing but Bless This Mess sounds like buying the whole outfit and maxing out your credit card.
Let's start talking about what works on Bless This Mess. The opening track "Only Daedalus" kicks the album open with a strong take of synth pop with sharp melodies and sound really tight and figured out. I like the backing vocals, waving synths, and simplistic balladry that start out on "Just Space for Light." The track soon picks off into a jammy groove and funk that's reminiscent of more recent acts like Toro y Moi or even The Internet. The keys sound almost like steel drums, which is pretty neat. "So Typically Now," which was initially released as a single, is definitely one of the better takes on vintage synth pop. The synths are bright, the bass is heavy, and the hooks are pretty sharp. It definitely has grown on me with each listen and I like the modern digital lyricism relating to changing passwords, texting, and urbanization in larger cities. "Tux (Your Body Fills Me, Boo)" is a banger full of bongos, a blasting synth line that glistens through the air, and quite a stellar chorus. The cheeky and humorous lyrics that are in the perspective of a tuxedo is pretty funny and clever. The acoustic "St. James Way" is quite gorgeous with its dreamy harmonies and it reminds me of acts like Stereolab. I like the usage of sampling the sound from a breast pump on "Pump" along with the plucky guitars. I can't help but smile at Remy singing cheekily, "that's how the milk makes it to your mouth."
What doesn't work for me on Bless This Mess are tracks that sound too dated or cheesy to me to be enjoyable. The majority of these are ballads just like on Heavy Light and not only do they sound dated but they're just simply boring to me. "Screen Face," "R.I.P. Roy G. Biv," and the title track are examples of this. "Futures Bet" isn't a ballad but an upbeat one. The guitars on the track are just ripped too much from the cheesy 80's rock playbook that I just can't take it seriously. The outro that closes the album up is anticlimactic with its repetitive narrations which seem way too drawn out to be cohesive or hold interest. It's a head scratching conclusion for sure. I ended up liking Bless This Mess for the most part but similar to Heavy Light, it's very hit or miss for me. The highs are pretty high while the lows are pretty low. I appreciate Meg Remy's continued collaborative efforts, attempts at different themes and concepts while pulling together an interesting array of sounds and styles that can definitely be only described as U.S. Girls. Unfortunately, those sounds and styles she is pulling from just simply aren't working for me sometimes.
My Rating: 6 / 10
Favorite Songs: "Tux (Your Body Fills Me, Boo)," "St. James Way," "Only Daedalus," "Just Space for Light," "So Typically Now"
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