ALBUM: “My Second Debut Album” by Abbie from Mars
RELEASE YEAR: 2022
LABEL: None
RATING: From Another Planet / 10
BEST TRACKS: “Following Your Lead”, “Fog It Up”, “Participation”
FCC: Some tracks have explicit content
Abbie from Mars is a techno alien from the future who has graced us with beautiful new ways to experience sounds and music (she’s also a self proclaimed “ursonist”, which is a combination of arsonist and ursonate). Hyperpop artists like SOPHIE and Bjork cleared the landing pad to help welcome Abbie to Earth, and thankfully she’s stuck around this planet long enough to let us experience her perspective through her art.
Abbie from Mars (AfM) currently resides in New York City working at a local radio station, playing gigs throughout the city, and supporting a nonprofit that helps local kids get access to music education. Her radio show is from 3 a.m. until 6 a.m., and it sounds like an intergalactic experience.
“My Second Debut Album” is exactly that. AfM’s sophomore album is a wacky ride through space and time. The album is like an electric current that courses through your body, electrifying you and opening your eyes to how different the world can be perceived through sound waves.
Out of This World Tracks:
I feel my muscles spasm every time “Following Your Lead” starts off, and then it lets me flow through the rest of the album without a hitch. The jolt from this opening track allows me to prepare for the rest of the album, which I truly appreciate. I think AfM’s electro beats and sounds on this track are a fun intro to the rest of the album and it has the most “singability” factored into it too.
“Fog It Up” has the synth waves and radioactive dance beats that one might expect from an otherworldly being. I really enjoy the way AfM blends her vocals with the instruments in this track. The hazier vocals leave me in a state of confusion as the whole world disappears from view until I wipe the condensation from my glasses.
In “Participation”, I found that AfM created a similar chill sound like “Fog It Up”, but more ethereal like a Grimes track or a Bjork instrumental bit. Again, it is the blending of multiple vocals, instruments and mutilated sounds that bring me to appreciate this track more than the rest.
Unrealized Potential:
The insanity that is “I Think I Broke My Finger” kind of leaves you reeling from shock. It is hard to listen to as Abbie screams and hurls odd sounds into your eardrums, but it’s the explosive nature of the sounds that makes it tolerable. AfM has a neat talent to create rhythms with funky sounds, which is what a lot of hyperpop artists have in common.
My only issue with “What Good Is a Weekend” is that it isn’t long enough. I want so much more of this song so I can enjoy more than the minute long bliss that bumps out of the speakers in this track.
Conclusions:
In short, Abbie from Mars is still brand new on the music scene and the planet. She has potential to grow and the freedom to move around and make some experimentally influential music that can affect new artists. I cannot wait to see how she continues her career and time on Earth.
