Kathryn Calder
by Emmet Matheson
Fans of Kathryn Calder’s collaborative projects Immaculate Machine and the New Pornographers had an idea her solo debut would be a worth a look, but couldn’t have been expecting what a revelation Are You My Mother? turned out to be.
Calder recorded the album with producer Colin Stewart in her childhood home while she was caring for her terminally ill mother, and the result is a deeply moving work of emotional honesty that never forgets it’s also a pop record.
The album opens with three incredibly strong songs, “If Only You Knew”, “Low” and “Castor and Pollux”, where Calder establishes the conversational tone that gives the listener a sense of intimacy and compassion. “Take a look at my heart,” she sings on the latter song, “you’ll find the chambers are blown wide open.”
But Are You My Mother? is not an album of emotions made raw by the devastation of loss; it’s far more subtle and complex than that. And that’s why it’s so rewarding. Like Paul Simon in his best work, Calder isn’t interested in mere catharsis but in finding moments that at once feel desperately individual but also, somehow, universal. Her experiences may be unique but she relates them so smartly and honestly that they become easily relatable.
“I walk along, you’ll find me at the power station /I walk along, listening to the hum of things in motion,” Calder sings in “Follow Me Into The Hills,” one of several perfect lyrics on Are You My Mother?.
Calder and Stewart really made the most of their unusual recording setup. Are You My Mother? retains the charm and warmth we expect from home recordings but there are also moments of great volume and grandeur, especially on album closer “All It Is”.
After years of sharing the spotlight, Kathryn Calder comes into her own.
sending...
