The Archer is a throwback to 60s/70s pop, filled with soft and soulful vocals and a hint of the blues. It is wrapped together with a classic Americana sound that persists throughout the record. If you are a fan of the recent releases from The Arctic Monkeys (Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino), Lana Del Rey (Norman Fucking Rockwell!), or Weyes Blood (Titanic Rising), you should check this one out.
Alexandra has created a cohesive yet diverse selection of tracks, which does well to keep listeners engaged. The opener, ‘Soft Currents’, is aptly titled as we are introduced to her comforting vocals, accompanied solely by light piano work. The lines “Happiness / I find happiness in the wrong places / Every time” is the first taste of the recurring lyrical themes on this album. Specifically, reflecting on failed relationships with a sense of melancholy.
This is followed up by the dreamy and ethereal ‘Saving Grace’ which includes a nice little guitar riff that could be straight out of a late 60s/early 70s psychedelic rock song. ‘Crying All the Time’ comes with more psychedelia than the previous track, and a Midwestern or Americana feel.
This was the first track that Alexandra wrote for the album, and has stated that “I wrote ‘Crying All the Time’ on New Year’s Day 2018. I had moved back home to Portland after a rough relationship. After being dropped from my previous record label, I started attending community college and about two weeks in, 30th Century reached out and offered for me to go to NYC and have a new record produced by Sam Cohen. We spent about three weeks recording The Archer in his studio in Dumbo, Brooklyn. It felt very natural to work with Sam because he is an incredibly kind man and incredibly talented musician and producer.”
The evolution and diversity of sound continues two tracks later on ‘Send Her Back’, where more of a jazzy feel can be felt, followed by one of the catchiest songs on the album, ‘Can’t Help Myself’. This track is the closest we get to a straight-up psychedelic pop song as it has less of the dream pop sound to it. The title track, ‘The Archer’, wraps up the album and is a bit of a recall to how we started. A laid back, stripped down song with vocals and piano pushed to the forefront.
The Archer makes for a great start to 2020. A comforting and easy listen with a shining vocal performance.
Favourite Tracks: Crying All the Time, Send Her Back, Can’t Help Myself, But You
Genres: #PsychedelicPop, #IndiePop, #DreamPop, #NeoPsychedelia
Release Date: January 10, 2020