This album starts off with “The Image”, and right off the bat this is a very commanding and intense performance from Katie. I love those thunderous opening drums, followed by Katie’s very haunting performance that’s also a little bluesy. But in a lot of ways, this is exactly what I thought Katie’s music could have been listening to her early material. It’s so sluggish and eerie, and overall there’s practically metal music I’ve heard this year that’s not as twisted as this. But Katie’s got such an interesting voice that she remains the star of it all. “The Image” in a way reminds me of the playbook of Chelsea Wolfe in the way that this is all so unnerving. But man, is it ever good. Plus, this very smokey and sexy atmosphere is just so strong, making for an awesome intro. Up next is “Midsummer”, and this one is even more out there. I love the sort of Freak-Folk elements blended in with her usual twisted Baroque Pop. Katie’s vocals have come so far in the last few years. She’s still very shy sounding and all, but she’s become so commanding in her performance. I love the seriously hypnotizing and repetitive vibes here that make this one really stick with you the first time you hear it. Not to mention, some of the backing vocals give “Midsummer” such a tortured undertone. It sticks with you though, and while it comes off like some sick Baroque Pop Horror Movie that’s what I love about it. Then we have “Paranoia”, which might be the most unnerving and seriously twisted instrumental I’ve heard yet. I does lighten up a bit though with Katie’s almost bounced and enjoyable performance. There’s almost a weird Timber Timbre vibe to this one, the way it’s both haunting and inviting too. As dark as it gets, I really love the joyous feel to this, even when it’s seriously down in the dumps. Katie certainly has a very unique vibe to her music. Call me crazy, I’m seriously into it. Not to mention, I love her sort of staccato delivery here with keeps with the busy undertones of all of this. So far, hell yeah this is good. This album continues on with “Soon”, and the pacing here continues to be done just so well. I love Katie’s very fragile, distressed vocals, which remain very smoky and sort of sexy to say the least. Now, as far as a solid track goes, this is a little more “Hit or miss”. But it’s still decent, and I continue to enjoy Katie’s very strong performances. The atmosphere here as well is just so encompassing, and is made even stronger by her numerous backing vocals mirroring her every move. Even instrumentally, I love a whole lot of what’s going on here. Some of the very jazzy horns and lounge like instrumentals just fit her style so well. So far Katie, so good.
“Nothing” on the other hand is a complete monstrosity, in the best way. I love the absolutely hulking pace of this, as well as just how brooding and Doom-Metal influenced this comes off. I mean, this is dreary to the point that I’m sure Chelsea Wolfe herself would get the chills. To be honest, I think this track is the sort of diabolical Gothic sound that Katie should really stick to. Her vocals are just so haunting, and wishing this very suffocating atmosphere it’s made even more powerful. Then, of course, we have the repeated lyrics of “not feeling anything at all”, which ends up making this even drearier. It’s not a happy song, it’s damn near hypnotizing and suffocating, and I love every last minute of it. Then we have “Mary”, which may be the most mellow track on the album. And to be honest, it’s a little too mellow for me. I like Katie working with these very depressing tunes and all, but “Mary” just falls flat. As far as instrumentals go, I couldn’t pick anything out of this one if I had to. Vocally, I get that she’s trying to sound work out and exhausted. But it’s a little too much, to the point where she’s putting me to sleep. I think some of the more harmonious moments during the chorus work nicely, and I love how haunting this track is. But this is seriously a huge set back for Katie, and just reminds me a little too much of what dragged me down about some of her early recordings. Thankfully though, Katie bounces back hard with “Life’s A Lie”. The sort of Bluesy, somber Baroque Pop sound is back in a big way. One thing I do continue to love about “Shitty Hits”, is just how animated and almost Kooky some of these instrumentals come off no matter how ridiculously dark Katie’s vocals come off. To be honest, I really can’t get enough of “Life’s A Lie”. It’s snappy, and almost has a weird sort of show-tunes vibe to it. But it’s just so Katie that it works wonderfully. Not to mention, as bizarre as it sounds, “Life’s A Lie” ends up coming off as one of the more hopeful sounding tracks here. This album is literally if Regina Spektor grew up Goth. But Katie begins to slowly drop the ball a little in these later moments. “Isolator’ is sadly a seriously hazy mess. I’m all for the off kilter Psych that’s shown its face from time to time here. But this is easily the most unorganized sounding material we’ve gotten yet. And the sad thing is, that deep down there are some really stunning moments in this instrumental. But as far as “Isolator” as a whole goes, it’s really messy. Plus, with this being such a short track, it comes off so rushed and I have no clue why.
Sadly, “Hold” is doing even less for me. Once again, Katie’s performance is right on point. But instrumentally, this is seriously very sloppy and just hard to place in the worst way. I’m all up for Katie’s more Spacey material, but I can’t remember a single moment from this. Thankfully though, Katie gives us “Going Down”, which is in every way exactly what I wanted to hear. This is just so damn unnerving and twisted, from the ghoulish backing vocals to the very well paced instrumentals. When Katie’s performance pops in, not too shockingly it’s just as twisted and well paced. There are so many sudden booming instrumentals here that keep you on the edge of your seat, and I honestly can’t get enough of it. As far as song structure goes, Katie has come such a long way. In the early years of Katie’s music, I always sort of saw what she wanted to do, but I felt like she had trouble piecing it together. But this, on the other hand, is the definition of a commanding performance. The vocals are haunting, the atmosphere is thick, this is just what I wanted to hear from Katie in every way. “Sell It Back” is the finale here, and it’s a whole lot more of the same. But I mean that in the best way. The atmosphere here is one of the strongest of this entire album, and Katie’s vocals are her most heavenly and truly haunting. It’s just as eerie, but it’s also seriously beautiful which is something I wouldn’t mind hearing Katie go for more in the future. Overall, this album was a whole lot more enjoyable than I thought it would be.
Rating: 7.8/10
Give A Listen To: "The Image", "Midsummer", "Nothing", "Life's A Lie"
Overall Thoughts: Now, I had a feeling I was seriously gonna dig this album from hearing these opening singles. But man, this is a seriously solid album from Katie. I've felt for a few years now that she had a very solid base to her sound, she just needed to expand it. Which she does here, and does it wonderfully. There's a whole lot of material on here clearly influenced by Doom-Metal and Metal in general, but she pulls it together with Singer-Songwriter quirks and her Bluesy brand of Baroque Pop. Well done Katie!
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