ALBUM: “Any Shape You Take” by Indigo De Souza
LABEL: Saddle Creek
RATING: 10/10
BEST TRACKS: “Pretty Pictures” “Real Pain” “Die/Cry”
FCC: None
Let me preface this entire review by saying that this album is my personal album of the year, at least thus far, and in my opinion, Indigo De Souza has yet to have a miss in her entire discography. Her sophomore album, “Any Shape You Take” was released on August 27 of this year. The record is ten songs long and has a run-time of 38 minutes, an ideal length for an album.
In regard to collaboration, the album was co-produced by De Souza and Brad Cook (Alex Farrar and Adam McDaniel also have production credits). As far as songwriting goes, Owen Stone has a songwriting credit on two songs and Jake Lenderman has a credit on one.
As a listener, I am lyricism focused, and this album’s biggest strength (although it has little to no weaknesses) are its lyrics. It very much has the honest detailed songwriting that has been emphasized in artists like Phoebe Bridgers as of late. However, De Souza juxtaposes this with repetition of phrases over and over again, that often turn into plea-like shouts. It makes for a dynamic and wonderful listening experience. As I often do in my album reviews, here is a list of just a few of my favorite lyrics from this album.
- “Do you see me when you’re sleeping? / Do you even shut your eyes at night?” — “Die/Cry”
- “I promise you I’ll always grow with you / And if my promise ever slips just trust I’ll have the heart to quit / I know when I am better off a friend” — “Pretty Pictures”
- “I see you in colors, in reds and in oranges / But you can’t color me in fear” — “Way Out”
- “Dirty the dishеs, stack them higher / We’rе not gonna wash them / We’ll throw them away / Kill me slowly, outside that diner / That we liked to go to / When things were okay”— “Kill Me”
This album is exactly what I needed this year. Other releases were somewhat lackluster, and I was losing hope in having an album I really enjoyed come out this year, but this North Carolina based artist flipped the script.
Happy listening,
Caitlin
