CD Review: "Victory Garden" by Laura Barrett

Artist: Laura Barrett
Album: Victory Garden
Label: Paper Bag Records
Rating:
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Laura Barrett’s album Victory Garden is a chaotic mess of noise and confusion. The album opens up with the song “Wood Between Worlds,” a creepy, dream sequence-sounding introduction to Barrett’s unique brand of music. “Consumption” follows with barely a beat between tracks with the odd lyrics “An ounce and a half is a noose at my back/I fold so easily/A textbook case of a margin erased/The constant recording of rubber misplaced/Load my recumbent.” The kalimba, the xylophone-esque instrument favored by Barrett, is playful and charming at first, but soon becomes incessant and exhausting. The array of instruments on the album are wasted on Barrett’s compositions and do nothing to detract from her high-pitched vocals. The piano and strings on “Spoiler Alert” give momentary relief, making it the one redeemable song among a swarm of bees that never give up their buzzing. “Victory Mashup” is the epitome of Barrett’s experiment gone wrong. The clashing sounds on the track are anxiety inducing, forcing listeners to make the choice of turning off the music or going insane. Victory Garden is like falling down Alice’s Rabbit Hole; take the chance, if you dare.

- Review submitted by Danielle Kramer.