A New Reality Mind

Although the apprehensive love songs that populated Madeline Kenneys third album, Suckers Lunch, reached audiences in July 2020, its the follow-up that grapples with not only the times pandemic isolation but with an unexpected breakup. Titled A New Reality Mind, it finds the songwriter, with her experimental dream pop tendencies in tow, recording all alone in her basement after a pair of albums produced with members of Wye Oak. It may come as a surprise, then, that this is in the running for her most ambitious, intricately constructed outing yet, if one thats still steeped in the dreamlike atmospheres and midtempo rumination of its predecessors. As if to acknowledge its aspirations, A New Reality Mind opens with an "Intro." The tracks interlude-type piano arpeggiation and quiet, dolphin-like synth howls transition straight into more-focal, spongy synth tones at the start of first song "Plain Boring Disaster." A spacy lament, its plentiful pitch bends and distorted vocals make way for a bass drop and a broader synth rock arrangement midway through. A reference to not feeling special for muddling through personal catastrophe, "Plain Boring Disaster" is merely the first of several songs that have Kenney critically examining her life from the outside, including titles like "Superficial Conversation" and "It Carries On." Along the way, she explores arty synth pop ("Superficial Conversation"), submersive dream pop ("Reality Mind"), percussive electronic folk ("I Drew a Line"), Laurie Anderson-like vocal play ("The Same Again"), and warped soft rock ("Expectations"). Elsewhere, "Leaves Me Dry," a song about antagonistic family, fits into the albums themes of distance and disappointment with a jazzier take on contemplative orchestral pop. While not among her more tuneful material, A New Reality Mind is a detail-oriented work that engages with its balance of sonic inventiveness and pop reference points. Lyrically, it may also connect with its steady stream of readjusted expectations. ~ Marcy Donelson