ALBUM: “Glow” by Alice Phoebe Lou
RELEASE YEAR: 2021
LABEL: Self Released
RATING: 9/10
BEST TRACKS: “Mother’s Eyes”, “Dirty Mouth”, and “Lovesick”
FCC: None
Alice Phoebe Lou pours out her heart on her newest record “Glow.” The South African artist wrote on her website that her third album was “An outlet. A place I blew off steam. I poured my most personal feelings, experiences & realizations into it and I stand before you completely naked, encouraging you to go to that place within yourself.” You can feel the earnestness throughout the album. Lou’s soft vocals belt out heartfelt lyrics backed by soothing keys, guitar, and bass. The album was recorded purposely on older equipment to give the songs a vintage sound. Lou sings about love for the first time, bringing us into her psyche.
Here are my favorite songs from “Glow.”
Mother’s Eyes
This track has a slowed-down groove, giving Lou plenty of time to work her lyrical magic. Delving into post break-up insecurities, this song ultimately speaks to self-confidence and self-reliance. She acknowledges it is a process with her lyrics, “feels like I’ll get there one step at a time”. Even without analyzing “Mother’s Eyes,” it is still a sultry track that has lyrics catchy enough to belt out in the car.
Dirty Mouth
The single, “Dirty Mouth,” might be my favorite from the whole album. Lou sings energetically and with the bouncy guitar, and the highs of the song are impactfully paired with the slower lulls of the track. This track has a punk/garage influence that you can hear in Lou’s rousing vocals towards the end of the song. “Dirty Mouth” has been my get-up-and-go track for a while now.
Lovesick
With a swinging beat, this track ends the album with a bang. She sings about an unrequited romance with such hope and wild abandon. I can’t stop thinking about the bridge of this song and the lyrics, “Would it be alright if we sat side by side and didn’t say a single word? Just let ourselves drown in the sweet sunny silence.” Lou is such an evocative songwriter, you feel drenched in the feeling of a short-lived summer romance.
9/10 amazing summer album!
-DJ lil witch