Caroline Polachek has already welcomed listeners to her island, and now she serves up a main course. Blood and Butter shimmers into the ears with powerful hooks and an impressive shift from echoed pop stylings to acoustic-driven impressions. That shift in tone gives Blood and Butter a back-and-forth as clear as the one in its title. Filled with interjections, tropical power and an immediacy that builds and builds ahead of her sophomore album release, Polachek has nailed, absolutely nailed, her style and her sound. Her influences are clear but making this and the upcoming Desire, I Want To Turn Into You, a force to be reckoned with, come naturally to the ambient pop sensation.
Ambience is still key to this track but Polachek is keen to explore the digitisation and electronica that was lingering under the surface of her tracks. Mythological exposition brings about a gorgeous presence that works well for train journeys overlooking the lead-up to Edinburgh, Scotland. Looking out at that lush ocean and hearing the string rising and the interjections forming as the buzz of a CrossCountry service door opens is quite the experience. But Polachek has always given way to the useful presence of her grounded pop foundation, which is that it is music for all occasions. Capturing that is much harder for the pop genre now than ever before, and for Polachek to make it look natural is a brilliant example of her artistry.
Polachek ferries her listeners off to that island she noted in her previous single. Nowhere is worse than home and in knowing that, acknowledging the desire to turn into something she is not or is not yet, brings about an earnest quality to Polachek’s pop-oriented workings. Comfort is found in the best of places and finding that in the assured quality of Blood and Butter is a warm welcome to listeners who have yet to define themselves. It is a theme that starts to brush itself along through the singles and gears itself up to be the heart and message of the upcoming album. Treasuring that intimacy in a genre that is usually full of glitz and flash, a blockade between listener and artist, makes Polachek the freshest face of the alt-pop genre out there.
Blood and Butter then is a credible and certainly lasting intake that gives Polachek the chance to push her already satisfying style to new ideas, and riskier movements. It is incredible to think that this is the build-up to a second release, rather than the longevity that usually comes with such grand and confident spectacles. Blood and Butter is certainly a credit to the artist and team behind it because to draw an approach, an interest and an image as soundly and convincing as this is monumental. No need for any more words on Blood and Butter. Pair it up with Welcome To My Island and feel that crucial appeal that comes from Polachek’s sound, it is a style that will be around for as long as Polachek cares to dominate the genre and demand more of it. A refreshing blast.
