rating: ★★★☆
mark:
Following Addison Rae, another influencer who gained fame on TikTok has ventured into the indie pop scene. Compared to the glamorous and luxurious pop imagery crafted by Addison, hemlocke springs leans more toward constructing an absurd aesthetic with a fairy-tale quality: extravagant, exaggerated, and slightly bizarre. The entire album maintains a consistent sense of fun in its auditory experience, with vocal expressions highly aligned with its narrative context. However, this also results in a deliberately crafted “sense of otherness” in certain sections (somewhat reminiscent of Remi Wolf’s vocal treatment, though the latter demonstrates greater maturity in melodic appeal). On the lyrical level, the appropriation of biblical imagery carries a certain obscurity, yet it simultaneously enhances the overall dramatic tension and cartoonish expression, allowing the text to maintain a delicate balance between symbolism and exaggeration. However, the issue lies in the album’s overall tendency to remain on the surface of stylistic construction: despite its complete aesthetic system and cohesive auditory experience, it lacks further emotional or conceptual depth. Apart from a slight breakthrough in the closing outro, the remaining tracks fail to leave a sufficiently impactful core impression.
继Addison Rae之后，又一位由TikTok走红的influencer转向独立流行领域的尝试。相较于Addison所营造的珠光宝气式流行想象，hemlocke springs更倾向于构建一种带有童话质感的荒诞美学：华丽、夸张且略带怪诞。整张专辑在听感上保持着持续的趣味性，人声表达高度贴合其叙事语境，但也因此在部分段落呈现出一种刻意为之的“异质感”（某种程度上接近Remi Wolf的声线处理，不过后者在旋律亲和力上更为成熟）。歌词层面，其对《圣经》意象的挪用带有一定的晦涩性，但同时强化了整体的戏剧张力与卡通化表达，使文本在象征与夸饰之间维持微妙平衡。然而，问题在于专辑整体始终停留在风格建构的表层：尽管美学系统完整、听感统一，却缺乏进一步向内推进的情感或观念深度。除收尾的outro略有突破外，其余曲目未能留下足够具有穿透力的核心印象。