Pang – Caroline Polachek ★★★

Year	Album	Artist	Stars	Score	Genre
2019	Pang	Caroline Polachek	★★★	56	Pop	Indie Pop

I’m a big fan of creative pop albums, but I was surprisingly underwhelmed by Pang, Caroline Polachek’s third solo record. A lot of the disappointment comes from her repetitive, elementary lyrics throughout the album. 

Listening to Polachek’s lyrics mostly felt like what I imagine reading an eigth or ninth grader’s diary would be like — a lot of lines where they think are funny or clever or edgy because they talk about sex and relationships in a somewhat open way, but the metaphors aren’t nearly as creative or telling as the writer thinks. Maybe they’re fun for some, but they come off as lame and cringeworthy corny to me most of the time, and so generic and general that there isn’t much that seems relatable. 

Pang does have solid electronic pop production and Polachekhas a good voice, which can actually carry an album pretty far. The atmospheric elements here all line up well to create a straight forward, ethereal pop record. 

The overall sound here offers a bit more than generic radio pop, and a more emotional vocal performance even if I don’t like most of the lyrics. “The Gate,” the title track and “Ocean of Tears” were the standouts for me.