A Kimbra Celebration! - Part Seven: Everlovin' Ya

It's almost time to conclude my celebration of Kimbra and her music, which means it's time to discuss her second full-length album! The album that celebrates its two-year anniversary today: The Golden Echo!

Living on a sheep farm after winning her Grammy with Gotye, Kimbra took a step back to reflect on what she wanted to create. This retreat from the hustle and bustle allowed her time for introspection, to focus on how she wanted The Golden Echo to sound. It would turn out to be an album of grand vision, sonic intensity, and perfect features. Kimbra's sophomore effort would build upon the near-flawless Vows in almost every way. It's a true evolution.

The cover artwork for The Golden Echo.

Released on August 19th, 2014 (in North America), The Golden Echo represented a bit of a shift in the way Kimbra approached the creation of an album. She wanted more layers, more textures, exotic varieties of instrumentation, etc. In other words, she wanted to take her sophomore album to the next level, and push herself to make a record that was grandiose, yet genuine and true to herself. When you consider the fact that many of the songs on Vows were written years before the album actually came out, The Golden Echo allowed for a fresh start.

Teaming up with one of her musical idols, Kimbra brought Daniel Johns (Silverchair) into the songwriting fold. Adding some experience to spice things up a bit, their collaborations result in some wonderful numbers. Songs like the innocent, mild-mannered opener Teen Heat and the stunningly beautiful As You Are prove that the collaboration with Johns was incredibly worthwhile.

Kimbra performs As You Are with Van Dyke Parks and Taylor Graves for Artist Journal.

But the cooperative efforts also extended to the instrumental side of things. Stephen Bruner, a.k.a. Thundercat, lays down bass tracks that are downright otherworldly on a few songs. Most notably on the track Love In High Places, where he lifts an already great song to a heavenly level. Kimbra also worked with composer Van Dyke Parks in order to give certain songs a dramatic, almost tense feeling at times. These elements allowed The Golden Echo to feel more dynamic and complex, without being overbearing.

Kimbra explains the collaborative process during the making of The Golden Echo.

Speaking from a personal level, The Golden Echo has everything I want in an album. It's such a warm album with groovy, funky, upbeat songs, tear-jerking, emotional ballads, and instrumentation that is fresh with each listen. It also features my favourite Kimbra song, Waltz Me To The Grave, which is a lengthy track that is both soothing and thrilling at the same time. The song takes off in the second half to reveal a cacophony of spiraling sounds, bringing the album to a close (unless you listen to the deluxe version, which is also great) on a literal echo. This allows the experience to resonate with you. It is a song that is compelling, and gives me goosebumps every single time I listen to it.

I explained that Vows was the mark of a confident songwriter, but The Golden Echo is the kind of album that you dig into and want to hear more and more. There are layers, there are intense instrumentals, there are moments on this record that are simply breathtaking. And that's not to take anything away from Vows, as both albums are top-tier achievements. They're both vastly different, but still the same in many core aspects. They're two sides of the same coin, and both represent something special to me.

The official lyric video for Love In High Places.

I could go on and on about The Golden Echo, just like I wanted to with Vows. But it's an album that needs to be experienced. And that's where I want to conclude with my Kimbra celebration.

Kimbra is an artist that needs to be experienced on multiple levels. Listen to her albums, watch her live shows and go to one if you can. Absorb her energy. She's constantly involved in her music, pushing to evolve and create the best material and put on the most surreal performances possible. She also collaborates with a lot of fellow musicians (i.e. Mew, Big Data, Slowolf, Bilal, etc.) to create even more impactful music with her peers. Beyond her music, she devotes some of her time to philanthropic causes and has raised awareness for issues in Ethiopia. Kimbra is an all-around terrific gal, and I am glad to have been able to celebrate such a wonderful person!

If you've been reading along with this celebration, then I thank you very much! It's been a lot of fun to cover Kimbra's career and two of my all-time favourite albums. I know there are a lot of Kimbra fans out there that love Vows over The Golden Echo and vice versa, and I appreciate that both albums are such treasures to listen to for us fans.

Now, all we need is some news about that third album, Ms. Johnson... ;)