Caroline Polachek’s Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
In Caroline Polachek’s relatively brief career, she has made herself into a indie pop icon like no other; her buzzing sonic quality mixed with her exciting and playful lyrics have made her into a force to be reckoned with, and one that has indeed already been recognized by artists like Charli XCX and Beyoncé. With this successful musical debut behind her, let’s get into Polachek’s most recent release—her new album, Desire, I Want To Turn Into You (2023).
First, some love notes—Polachek introduced this album by releasing a number of singles, the most substantial pre-release being her EP, Blood and Butter. This EP features one of my favorite songs on the album, “Welcome To My Island,” which opens Desire, I Want To Turn Into You with an upbeat and welcoming quality similar to indie artist Dora Jar’s “Opening” on Digital Meadow (2021) and synth-pop artist Magdalena Bay’s rather meta “The End” on Mercurial World (2021) (two fantastic artists that I would recommend to any fans of Polachek’s work).
Also released on Blood and Butter was “Bunny Is A Rider,” the most popular song on Desire, I Want To Turn Into You. Surprisingly, “Bunny Is A Rider” did not strike me with the same original quality that much of Polachek’s music champions; however, as I am in the minority with this opinion, I consulted fellow-Polachek listener senior English adolescent education major Carly Burgio for their opinion:
“Caroline Polachek has worked her magic once again on her new album. The musicality and cohesiveness of the entire track list is really impressive, and the songs give all-around immaculate vibes. My personal favorites are “Bunny is a Rider,” a bop which is rightfully one of the most popular on the album, and “Butterfly Net,” which beautifully combines Polachek’s impressive vocals with the overall sound of the album. Both of these songs demonstrate the musical and emotional range that Polachek achieves with this album. It will certainly be an album on repeat for me in the coming months.”
Placed between “Welcome To My Island” and “Bunny Is A Rider” is one of my favorite songs on the album, “Pretty In Possible”; this song, along with “Crude Drawing Of An Angel” and “Smoke,” were the ones that I most enjoyed on the album for adhering to the fantastic experimental quality that Polachek brings to the musical world. While none of these songs have as many plays as the more popular singles released before the album, I would recommend them to any folks who are looking for that classic Polachek sound.
That being said, there were some exciting new tones and rhythms that Polachek explored in this album. The acoustic guitar solo in “Sunset” rides the line between folksy and flamboyant with surprising grace while maintaining eclectic lyrical tangibility, opening with “These days, I wear my body like an uninvited guest,” and moving into the simple-yet-striking metaphor of a “fiery red, forever fearless…warm horizon” as the risk-ridden venture of falling in love. In “Fly To You (feat. Grimes and Dido,” similarly, Polachek samples new melodies with Grimes’ characteristic ethereal, electronic rhythm. As a long-time Grimes listener, I felt that the artists’ sounds complemented each other nicely, though “Fly To You” was not one of my favorites on the album.
As a whole, Desire, I Want To Turn Into You toys with listeners’ expectations, expands beyond the musical talent that we have seen from Polachek so far, and still manages to stick the landing. Polachek fans, old and new alike, are sure to uncover this impressive and skillfully crafted production with the same zeal and passion that Polachek’s sound emanates.