By Kourtney Gierke, Contributor

[Sub Pop Records; 2024]

Rating: 6/10

Key Tracks: “Model, Actress, Whatever,” “Everybody Breaks Up Anyway,” “Legendary”

Although she may be known for being a “model, actress, whatever,” Suki Waterhouse’s new album proves she is also a prominent musician in the indie pop scene. Released on September 13, Suki Waterhouse’s sophomore album Memoir of a Sparklemuffin takes its name from the bright colorful dancing spider. Waterhouse takes on the role of a Sparklemuffin in this album, creating something unique, emotional, and often, fun.

In 18 tracks, Waterhouse moves from upbeat indie rock, to slow ballads and back to her pop roots. At times, the album can seem disorganized and incoherent, but her dreamy sound and vocals somewhat tie it together. Her 90s influences are clear on this album, with songs like “Supersad” that embody a Smashing Pumpkins disoriented guitar, and “Model, Actress, Whatever,” which opens with a Mazzy Star-inspired acoustic intro.

Waterhouse best succeeds at creating interesting backing tracks. Songs like “My Fun” utilize interesting and creative instrumentation, heard in her use of a recorder in the background chorus. “Model, Actress, Whatever” and “Everybody Breaks Up Anyway” add to the melodic tracks with an orchestral strings accompaniment. One of her best musical decisions is her incorporation of drums throughout the album. “Gateway Drug” is one song that exemplifies this. The drums match the song’s shift to a harder rock sound, often lacking in modern indie rock songs.

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Suki Waterhouse’s ethereal dreamy image carries with her on this album. “Lullaby,” and “Faded” continue her beloved sound from her previous hit “Good Looking.” She strays away from a synth sound and leans more acoustic with lots of guitar. She gets more experimental in “To Love” and “OMG” as she belts the choruses instead of keeping with her relaxed vocals.

Still, the album can be boring and repetitive at times. Some songs simply sound forgettable, and the lyrics don’t redeem her. “Nonchalant” talks about being “that quintessential cool girl in a bar,” a stereotype she is trying too hard to lean into on this album. With the majority of the songs being under three minutes long, it’s as if she was pushing out as many digestible indie rock tracks as she could instead of working on interesting, quality songs.

Despite the occasional boring tracks, Waterhouse has overall crafted some of the best lyrics of her career. Her strongest song on the album, “Model, Actress, Whatever” includes the chorus “All of my dreams came true / The bigger the ocean, the deeper the blue / Call me a model, an actress, whatever / Other half of my baby, we stay together” describing her feelings toward balancing multiple creative occupations and reclaiming the labels given to her by the media.

Contrasting her lovely slower songs, she does not shy away from the cheeky, funny and relatable heartbreak songs. “Lawsuit” cleverly writes “If what they say is all true, true / Good luck with that lawsuit” and “Funny how the tables have turned / Warning signs but you never learn / No, you can’t stop taking second chances / I could write a book about the ways you took advantage.”

The lyrics from “To Get You” add to the beautiful ballad, saying “I dodged a bullet, still half of my heart bled out / Burned all the bridges, the fire kept falling down.” “Legendary” is lyrically her strongest piece. The song includes lots of magical metaphors, alluding to mermaids, dragons, and wolves. It embodies that perfect magic she tried to create with the “Sparklemuffin” image with lines like “Then you washed up on the shore / Out of the rock, you pulled the sword” and “Can’t believe I get to have it / Slayed the dragons for this legendary love.” Thematically, this album is about Waterhouse going through heartbreak and finding a great love again.

It’s clear Suki Waterhouse went for individuality and creativity on this album as she tries on different genres in short songs. “Memoir of a Sparklemuffin” is elegantly all over the place. Her slow songs “Faded” and “Could’ve Been A Star” juxtapose the more upbeat “OMG” and “Big Love.” Her growth is evident on this album, but hopefully she continues to develop a distinct sound. She is clearly a natural at lyricism and her 90s rock influence works great for her. Memoir of a Sparklemuffin is just another great piece for an anticipated long career for Waterhouse.

Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/album/5PflJDKGFMTBj49PF4KlOX?si=ekUvZbdTSAuJ7t8kmb9qXA&nd=1&dlsi=ec85dc889c544fa4