Review: Kathryn Calder – Self-Titled

Kathryn Calder
Self-Titled

File Under: Music
Street: 04.14
Kathryn Calder = The New Pornographers + Maria Taylor + The Shins

Calder is one of the backing vocalists in The New Pornographers, and her third release—simply dubbed Kathryn Calder—is phenomenal. I got goosebumps listening to the first track on this album, “Slow Burning”— an intimate ode that channels the pop-rock guitar melodies of The New Pornographers while tastefully showcasing Calder’s wistful and poignant vocal arrangements. Completely enamoring from beginning to finish, this album soars effortlessly through 10 delicate, reflective songs that are quietly personal, yet musically powerful. Detached vocal harmonies and dark guitar distortions build up into an explosion of musical catharsis on the track “When You See My Blood,” while the gentle pop ballad “Take a Little Time” weaves effortlessly through beachy guitar harmonies that are impossible to resist. Poignant, good-natured and literate, this is one of the best albums I’ve heard in 2015. –Kristyn Porter