Suki Waterhouse
Memoir of a Sparklemuffin
Release Date: Sep 13, 2024
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Alternative Singer/Songwriter
Record label: Sub Pop
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Album Review: Memoir of a Sparklemuffin by Suki Waterhouse
Very Good, Based on 5 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
After releasing her pining full-length debut, I Can't Let Go, in 2022, Suki Waterhouse continued her acting career, appearing in the biopic Dalíland and as a member of the fictional TV band Daisy Jones & the Six while working on her ambitious music follow-up. A double-length album recorded with I Can't Let Go producer Brad Cook, along with Foxygen's Jonathan Rado (Weyes Blood, Father John Misty), Cigarettes After Sex's Greg Gonzalez, Rick Nowels (James Blake, Lana Del Rey), courtship. 's Eli Hirsch, and several others, including additional songwriting collaborators, Memoir of a Sparklemuffin greatly expands and dramatizes the sound and scope of her relationship laments, putting it in the territory of Lana Del Rey and Angel Olsen's most extravagant works.
Based on rating 7/10
Whether it's from her on-screen appearances or being a poster girl for some of today's most renowned fashion, Suki Waterhouse is a recognisable name (and face) for many. And yet, it wasn't until 2022's debut album I Can't Let Go that we first saw a glimpse into what lies beneath the facets of her public image. On her sophomore project, Waterhouse strips back all façades to dive deeper into the individual behind the numerous titles that she holds.
Based on rating 3.5/5
While 'Memoir of a Sparklemuffin' is an objectively terrible album title, it goes a fair way to describe the jist of this second album from - in the words of one of its tracks - 'Model, Actress, Whatever', Suki Waterhouse. Which is to say an often whimsical, occasionally scattershot yet wryly self-aware collection of songs which run a musical gamut from Lana Del Rey's Old Hollywood-channelling balladry to grunge pop - or more succinctly, much like a late noughties Tumblr given the same name. Take the knowing wink, perhaps of 'Legendary', placing itself in the direct lineage of Olivia Rodrigo's 'Vampire' and Radiohead's 'Creep' in its opening chords.
Based on rating 6.3/10
On her debut album I Can’t Let Go, Suki Waterhouse felt stuck, like she was moving through molasses. “I felt like I was doomed to feel a certain way forever,” she said in an interview with DIY last month, and this gloom was reflected on the record’s woozy sound. On her sophomore album peculiarly titled Memoir of a Sparklemuffin, she scoffs at her old self and aims to shed off this Eeyore angle. After facing the scrutiny of tabloids, going viral on Tik Tok, starring in Daisy Jones & the Six, getting engaged and becoming a mother, she realizes she’s better off not giving a fuck than being someone who sits on the sidelines..
Based on rating 5/10
Suki Waterhouse describes "Supersad," from Memoir of a Sparklemuffin, as a "song you could hear playing at the mall in Clueless or as an opening track for Legally Blonde." This intent to capture a time, a feeling, a pop culture moment on "Supersad" shows that Waterhouse understands a tenet that makes pop music great: through bubbly songwriting and Technicolour production, you can conjure a specific fantasy, a memory. It's what makes "Supersad" the best song on the album, a glittery cut of carefree indie-pop. Unfortunately, the rest of the album doesn't always replicate this sense of imagination.
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