By Nora Schindler

Suki Waterhouse opens her sophomore album with what she calls a “head-banging car song.” This opening track being “Gateway Drug,” sets the tone for a 90’s alt-vibe album. The entire project has an ethereal sound that’s almost what you think a dream state would sound like.

Waterhouse is an English born singer-songwriter with the titles actress and model also under her belt at just 32. Evidently, her job titles are the topic of track seven on her recent album. The track, “Model, Actress, Whatever” explores the many conversations that surround an artist as they enter the world of fame and fortune. The singer started off with modeling at a young age but grew to fame with her role as Karen Sirko in the miniseries Daisy Jones & the Six. 

Described as an indie pop artist, she released her debut album, I Can’t Let Go, in May of 2022, most recently she released Memoir of a Sparklemuffin. Waterhouse experienced quite the success with some of her previous works getting lots of attention on the popular social media app Tik Tok. In August of this year she performed as Taylor Swift’s opening act on the Era’s Tour at Wembley Stadium.

For the rollout of her second album she released “To Love,” as the first single off of the record back in 2023. In the current year in the months leading up to the release she brought out five more singles, “OMG,” “My Fun,” “Faded,” “Supersad,” and “Blackout Drunk.” 

Track two “Supersad,” explains her messy and wild nature, centering around having crazy days where you do everything yet nothing at all. Sound wise, Waterhouse told BBC Radio 1, “…I wanted to make a song that sounded like what you would put on in the mall in the movie  Clueless…like that kind of 90s movie was where my head was at…” That goal was definitely achieved and reflects her intentions well.

Though many of the songs on this record carry a specific sound, they differ from each other with uses of unique and tones so that it remains a cohesive album and not a repetitive one. Almost every song features a smooth guitar riff or an interesting dreamy synth. 

A personal favorite on this record is “OMG.” This is track number twelve and it’s produced by Jules Apollinaire, when talking about it she says, “We were like it’s not working, ‘It’s not working’. And then two months went by and we were back in the studio and suddenly this chorus came out with this energy around it,” she told Rolling Stone. Immediately this song catches your attention. Along with the record, the vibe of this song is a hazy fever dream–in the best way.

Overall this album experiments with different ideas and executions of those ideas and does it successfully. It’s unique and a well-rounded addition to Waterhouse’s discography.