Kim Deal is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, bassist and keyboardist who has her hands all over the alternative rock scene. As a former member of the Pixies, the Amps and the Breeders, it’s safe to say that Deal has cemented her legacy, and now with her solo debut, “Nobody Loves You More,” she aims to add to her legacy with a project that is a departure from her usual sound.
While this album doesn’t entirely venture outside of the alternative rock genre, it gives us plenty of tracks that delve into Deal’s rendition of chamber pop. Her best attempt at chamber pop throughout the whole project comes in the introductory title track. It consists of somber and repetitive lyrics with loungy production in the first half that pays off with a swelling horn section with a great melody before mellowing out again with the final repeated chorus. It’s a great track that I wish reflected how the rest of the chamber pop cuts on the record sound.
The next track, “Coast,” is another chamber pop track that does not work nearly as well for me. It continues its use of horns in a less intriguing way and delivers a decent chorus with a tropical feel that matches the album cover. Next, we see Deal return to her alt-rock sound with “Crystal Breath,” a track that sounds like something that could have been on a late ‘90s record by the Breeders. It contains Deal’s signature slacker vocals and some fun and quirky guitars.
It’s here that I start to notice a pattern: virtually every other song on this project switches from a calmer and more somber chamber, pop track to a more energetic alt-rock track. The contrast this provides comes as sort of a double-edged sword as it provides a good sequencing for the album. On the other hand, as a person who is not really into chamber pop, it sometimes feels like a slog to get through the more poppy song in anticipation of the next song.
This is not the case, however, for the song, “Are You Mine?” It’s an eerily beautiful track amplified by its haunting lyrics written from the perspective of Kim Deal’s mother who is affected by dementia, “Are you mine? Are you my baby? I have no mind for nothing but love.”
The last two songs I want to discuss in length are two of the last tracks on the project, “Summerland” and “A Good Time Pushed.” “Summerland” is a very pleasant and soft song with simple melodies from Deal’s ukulele and soft vocals providing the backdrop for Deal’s laidback singing of barebones lyrics. The track has bursts of electric guitar sprinkled throughout until it fades out at the end of the song.
“A Good Time Pushed” then begins by reviving the guitar that had just faded at a more upbeat tempo to close the album out with another nostalgic-sounding track reminiscent of the Breeders. The track has some solid guitar work by Deal as usual, an infectious chorus and a nice bridge composition before one last chorus that feels like a melancholic goodbye.
Overall, while there are not many standout tracks to write home about, the whole album has a very cohesive tropical sound that I think Kim Deal is able to pull off pretty well. At times the record bored me because it stuck with instrumentation, which while well-produced, became formulaic to my ears by the time I figured out what Deal was going for. With some of her most personal tracks and an almost entirely self-produced album, “Nobody Loves You More” proves itself necessary as Kim Deal’s first solo outing.
Rating 3.5/5