Ally Evenson is a musician I first learned about when they were on tour with Chloe Moriondo for Blood Bunny. I went to the Michigan show on that tour, and Ally opened for Chloe. It was a last minute acoustic set, but it was so good. The person I went with and I both followed her on Spotify and Instagram immediately after the concert. I personally didn't listen to more than a couple songs after that (I'm bad at listening to new music). However, I've heard some snippets of this album on Ally's Instagram, and I'm so excited to finally have this album in full.
1: Shitty Heaven
The isolated, layered vocals with the slow introduction of soaring notes is so easy to fall into. Makes me want to close my eyes and just enjoy it. Then there's that ending. Oh wow, that ending! So powerful with the funky beat intermission before it. Great opener for the album.
2: Where Are You Going?
The drums in this one are so fun. Ally's voice and the effects they use in the layers of the vocals are so beautiful and interesting. I love a good build up that falls away to quiet, and this song perfectly does this at the end.
3: Cross My Fingers
I think a reoccurring theme here is that I love the mixing of the vocals and how fun the drums are. This one has a simpler structure than the previous ones, but the voicemail in the middle really grabs your attention and keeps you on your toes.
4: One Trick Pony
I love the picking pattern in this one. Some wavy sounds under the main guitar and drum tracks of the second verse that I adore. And that whispered last line gave me chills. I don't have much to say on this one, but it's a stand out for me.
5: You Poor Thing
Okay WOW. That first verse building up to the title line was pretty. I was hooked in just listening to every word, and then that guttural scream. I love love love screams like this in music. This whole song is gorgeous, but the screams are making me want to throw this on my main rotation of playlists. It's so so good.
6: Something In The Water
Very fun lyrics and rhymes with this one. The beat's fun too, I was bobbing along the whole time. The choppy, high vocals in the bridge were amazing. I'm noticing with each track that they - at first glance - seem like basic indie pop, but then Ally comes in with something intriguing to keep you truly listening. This separates her sound from other indie pop in my mind.
7: Obituary
Ally slows and quiets down with this one. The mixing on the vocals are really wonderful. Then, there's that impact at the end. I like the gentle lead up to the louder drums and guitar with her continued gorgeous vocals over top. And the fall away at the end to just their voice just really wraps this song up nicely.
8: Throes
Starting off very fun with this one. I was driven to dance along with the strumming pattern and drums in the verses. I kinda thought of Yellowjackets with the lyrics of this one (but maybe that's because it's been on my mind a lot lately). This is such a dancey, happy one.
9: Blue Super Love
Title track! Man, what an interesting sound here. From the first second through the end. Lots of little sound effects that really make this one stand out too. The different sounds that Ally makes with their voice through simply singing differently and also the way the songs were edited/mixed really amazes me. The spoken ending with layered sounds under the instrumental was almost creepy, and I liked it a lot.
10: Caroline
Nice picking pattern here too. Very high (maybe pitched up?) singing over top of the simple guitar track for the first half. Then piano is added in to fill it out a bit more. Much simpler sound than most of this album, like a reprieve from the insane layering in the rest of the songs. Not saying either is bad; if anything, both are very much necessary to create a complete sounding album.
11: Virtual Bottle
So many cool little vocal editing choices and sounds mixed with them at the beginning of this one. Really driving home the title of this one. It sounds like a digital/virtual world's soundscape. Then there's the sections of more typical sounding indie pop that flow nicely between the verses of what I called a soundscape.
12: Anything, Anything
I like the use of ear-to-ear sound in this one (because I always use headphones for first listens of albums like this). I feel like it's harder to type up my thoughts for songs I really vibe with because I just want to sit with their sounds. This one is a good mix of fun, chill, and driving. I know that might sound contradictory, but I swear she's done just that with this one.
13: Fear of God
I love a good religious metaphor for love. Also, that little sound effect in the first verse really caught my attention, then it became a reoccurring sound. It kept me intrigued to see where this song went. Surely it's not just a simple love song with religious imagery, right? Yep. Then there's the distorted, loud instrumental at the end that the entire song built up to. Another close your eyes and enjoy moment, which is a terrific ending for the album.
This album seriously blew me away. Having only heard a few older Ally Evenson songs before this project, I was not expecting this kind of sound from them at all. I guess maybe I did a little from reels I'd seen, but I was convinced it would just be a song or two. Nope, every single one of these songs had something about it that keeps you hooked in. There's at least one element or moment in each that keeps you guessing what's to come next. I adored this.
This is definitely a front-to-back listen, not an album to shuffle. I mean, do what you want, but the way these songs flow in order is something magical I swear. Also, I'm not sure if other streaming platforms do this, but the visuals on Spotify were really cool for the tracks that had them.
I'm so excited to see where Ally's music takes us next following this album and how their sound continues to evolve. However, for now I'll be enjoying BLUE SUPER LOVE on repeat. I can just tell this is one - much like Preacher's Daughter by Ethel Cain - that I'll think about as a full project often.