Album Review: Kimbra - The Golden Echo

Kimbra’s still the songwriter we used to know, but she’s a whole lot weirder. The songs on her second album The Golden Echo reflect the Kiwi singer’s open-hearted approach to songwriting that first earned her a wide audience. However, she’s ditched the reserved side of her music and image that would have fitted neatly on an iPod commercial a few years ago. It was clear from the first single off it that this album was going to be different.

90s Music was a surprise. Its grinding hip hop beat suggest a more R&B direction for the singer until skyrocketing synthesisers launch the chorus into a dizzying spiral that doesn’t seem to fit in any genre but her own. Then news that Matt Bellamy and Mark Foster are both on the track further muddies the waters around this album’s release.

The Golden Echo draws strength from its contributors. Bilal appears on Everlovin’ Ya, the wonkiest and most skewed duet since Andre 3000’s collaboration with Kelis. Daniel Johns of Silverchair gives some backing vocals to the disco-fevered Miracle, while Van Dyke Parks adds some beautiful, shifting strings to the ballad As You Are.

If there’s one telling presence on this album it’s John ‘JR’ Robinson, for many years Michael Jackson’s studio drummer. Nobody But You and Madhouse both tip on the funky side of the tightrope that fellow outré pop artist Janelle Monae has worked with, making The Golden Echo a teasing listen that ultimately rewards over time.