An artist on the rise, Remi Wolf is back with her newest album Big Ideas. Released on July 12, 2024 through Island records, her sophomore album is a captivating journey through the artist’s nonsensical world.
Using colorful bouncy beats as her backbone, Wolf is creating a new form of Pop centered on expression and emotional release. Coming off a slew of eccentric singles, it is refreshing to see Wolf hunkering down to create the complete album of work that is Big Ideas. Even if each song feels entirely different and the only throughlines are uncertainty and confusion, it is not a bad thing; because there is a strong connection between these two themes. Wolf balances the melodrama of her own vulnerability with plenty of catchy one-liners, jazzy trumpets, and funky Reggae inspired beats, thus the story of Big Ideas from 2021’s Juno.
The songs keep their hyper tones, nonsense lyrics and Wolf is still mixing and mashing genres from all over the late 20th century… so what is different? The answer is impossible to fully track down, but it lies somewhere with mastery over the self. Creating a strong message about herself that fits perfectly into the groovy music she has produced, the first track on the album is “Cinderella.” A disco-esque cut that is alive with colors, Wolf’s opening line “I can be yellow, I can be orange by the afternoon / And I’m purple, so quick when I switch it up” is a testament to this. A powerful cut about her ability to adapt to situations, and finding joy and happiness within them, it also has Wolf questioning herself; a trope that is repeated a lot throughout this album. Ending in a refrain of nonsense, Wolf repeats “me and the boys in the hotel lobby” with a backbeat of bells chiming, whistling, and a snazzy trumpet blaring over it all. Overall, it is a reminder to not take things so seriously… which is a very Remi Wolf way to start an album.
That in mind, Big Ideas itself is a victim of musical mood swings. Each song seems to oscillate, having a happy power ballad followed by a tale of sad insecurity. This fits with Wolf and her message; especially when the sad songs are created with such unique genres behind them. However, even if she is sad, she is not afraid to be loud and proud about it. The best part of these sad songs though is the lyrics with lines like – “You’re so patient with the animals too / if you give me your keys, I’ll go and pick up the soup.” The words have no context to them, but Wolf’s tone and calling to the unknown ‘you’ shows that we only have one half of the conversation anyways. There is a person missing from Wolf’s life, and by leaving them ambiguous, the recipient can be anyone or no one at any time.
Wolf herself doesn’t know who she is trying to contact with this music, but maybe it doesn’t matter if they even get the message. “Alone in Miami” does this well, with its refrain “Alone in Miami with you there / If you don’t understand me, then who can?,” which is a contradiction with no real answer. Wolf is realizing that even with this other person she is still just as lost and alone as if she were by herself.
In terms of radio-play and catchiness, “Toro” could top the charts, just beating out “Cinderella.” It serves as the perfect background music to strolling on the Miami Boardwalk in a ’70s workout set complete with bubblegum pink clouds and a candy blue sky. This is expanded upon in the best, albeit wild, ways with “Cherries & Cream” which features crashing guitar chords and a fun bubbly sound effect complimenting her strange recollection of a night in Chicago… complete with legs falling off. Overall, strange metaphors and melodramatic questions of regret and fear juxtapose the laidback non-lyrical ad libs that are sprinkled through the song.
Furthermore, if you are searching for the wacky and wild Remi Wolf that appears in her debut 2019 EP You’re a Dog, then the silly lyrics of “When I Thought of You” and the unique sound effects in “Frog Rock” are for you. Showcasing Wolf’s even more experimental side, it feels like a shelf of chaos organized just enough to be called a song. A kickback from the intense version of herself, here she morphs back into the cartoony unserious Remi Wolf that just wants to make a wild and funky song.
Overall, Remi Wolf’s Big Ideas is a fun exploration of what it means to be in love. Fit with strange lyrics that only build on themselves, unique distortion of instruments, including her own powerful voice, and bouncy unforgettably jazzy interludes, you have a fun, special album that Cryptic Rock gives 4.5 out of 5 stars.
){kind=link}
No comment