OFFICIAL:
http://www.kittensslaydragons.com/
Written
by Monty Wright, posted by blog admin
Singer/songwriter
Sarah Donner’s electropop project Kittens Slay Dragons has released a stunning
debut entitled Big Big Heart that’s sure to challenge any preconceptions you
might have about electronic music’s sustainability. The ten songs on this
collection are wildly entertaining, but they likewise make uniquely imaginative
and personal statements not typical of efforts in this vein. It is united by a
theme, but Donner and her collaborator $hClane! never belabor that point. The
songwriting dovetails naturally into one another and there is an ultimate unity
of purpose that brings things together rather than leaving the connecting
tissue too obvious. Despite working under an alternative moniker, Donner’s
voice emerges through the electronic treatment to make a clear personal
statement that happens to have wide audience appeal.
“Gatekeeper”
opens with some dizzying synth lines that give it a distinctly upbeat feel. The
percussion is unobtrusive once it enters and Donner’s voice matches its energy
with her own highly stylized passion. She knows just when to ramp up the vocal
intensity and when to relax into more muted, reflective passages. The strong
presence of electronica continues to hold sway on the next song. “Castiel” has
a much more assertive, urgent tone thanks to its insistent and hard hitting
beat, but the clipped quality of the vocal melody has a similar effect on the
final product. It’s much less of a plaintively emotional tune than the opener,
but still quite effective in a different fashion. “Smile Pretty” has been
rightly tapped as an album single and it’s easy to hear why. Electronica is
still a dominant musical force, but it is a much more reflective performance
both lyrically and musically while seizing upon a vocal melody guaranteed to
capture listener’s attention.
More
shimmering synth lines begin “Big Big Heart” and the pensive tempo that the
song takes is wholly appropriate for this lyric and Donner’s obvious preference
for a patient, slowly developing vocal. We get some more insistent tempos
augmented by electronic instruments on the track “Queer and Square”. The
quality of empathy in Donner’s writing is extraordinary and rarely more so than
here. Her willingness to identify herself with the sensitive and occasionally
downtrodden is an abiding element of her songwriting and benefits here from a
full on, energetic electronic treatment. “Symbols in the Sky” has much more of
an outright groove, admittedly stripped down to its essence, but it
nevertheless gives Donner’s vocal an extraordinary vehicle through which to get
across her point of view. The album’s penultimate tune, “Eggs”, has a
surprisingly hard edge for this material, but it never sounds incongruous or
unbelievable either on its own or set against the other tracks. It’s just
another side of Donner’s musical personality coming to the fore and sports a
remarkable lyric. “Head Down, Heart Up” is a bouncy finale for the album that
reflects a great deal of its creator’s indefatigable spirit. It’s an excellent
way to conclude this album and promises to send listeners away with a smile on
their faces.
Grade:
A
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