Posted by Katie Malco’s debut album has been a long time coming. After all, her first releases emerged a decade ago, with her sporadic catalogue depicting a voice coming into bloom, an artist absorbing experiences both personal and musical along the way.
The deeply impressive ‘Failures’ is the culmination of this process, a work of real tenderness and stark honesty that finds Katie Malco in full command of her artistry. Storming opener ‘Animals’ surges into view, its careering indie rock reminiscent of The National or Broken Social Scene, married to a lyric that tackles emotional abuse, teenage experimentation, and the poisonous overlap between personal trauma and alcohol.
Tackling the challenges of her debut album head-on, ‘Failures’ is lyrically honest, in an often explicit, occasionally shocking way, but delivered with humanity, and an engaging embrace of melody. ‘Tw’ shrives on a sense of folk simplicity, while ‘Let’s Go To War’ undercuts the defiance of its title with an introspective lyric.
‘Peckham’ finds the Northampton songwriter lost in the capital, and there’s an enduring sense of dislocation across the record as a whole – a feeling of being emotionally out of sorts, perpetually chasing last trains, or waiting in isolated stations.
Ending with the candid ‘First Snow’, it’s a slim, intense, and rewarding 10 track journey, one that recalls Julian Baker’s early work in places, or even elements of Phoebe Bridgers’ outstanding debut LP.
Crafting a work that can more than hold its own against her influences, Katie Malco has chosen to wear her ‘Failures’ on her sleeve, and in the process has thoroughly transcended them.
7/10
Words: Robin Murray
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