Album Articulation #7: Nobody Loves You More by Kim Deal
Self growth in multi-genres... with a flamingo.
Spirit to circuit to ground
I was made to radiate out
Show me what's not possible
And I'll come running
Come Running - Kim Deal
Articulation #7
Artist: Kim Deal
Album: Nobody Loves You More
Released: November 22, 2024
Genre: Pop/Rock
Notable Songs
Coast
Reflections on past struggles, juxtaposed with the youthful exuberance of beach-goers.Disobedience
A defiant anthem confronting existential despair with raw energy.
A Good Time Pushed
A shadowy love song about self empowerment.
Vibes
Themes of struggle, trauma, loss, love, and resilience are woven throughout, drawing heavily from Deal’s personal experiences, including the loss of her parents and her mother's battle with Alzheimer’s.
The album balances joy and despair, creating a life-affirming narrative with rich emotional depth.
References artists and styles like Dusty Springfield, Patsy Cline, Shirley Bassey, and Blondie. I hear the Beatles in the texture of the guitar and bass.
Combines autobiographical storytelling with stylistic variety, creating a distinctive and unpredictable sound.
Incorporates a wide range of genres, including swooning pop, country-tinged ballads, mariachi horns, trip-hop beats, and symphonic crooning.
Guitar almost always a constant steady rhythm throughout.
Use of hard stops where everything holds silence used frequently, forcing us and her into a moment of reflection.
“Coast” juxtaposes reflections on running through a life full of addiction with the twangy guitars and singing brass of a chill vibe. We all want to escape, in one way or another.
“Crystal Breath” was a jolting surprise with heavy effects, distorted guitar, and echo-y voices feeling very modern, edgy, with a hint of anger.
“Are You Mine” mimics the swooning slide guitar of almost nostalgic old country ballads and combines a pulling of dissonance and release in the strings to show the confusion and heartbreak.
“Big Ben Beat” brings back the heavy electronic effects and a gritty electric guitar, accompanying a more spoken/rap vocal style to anger-fill lyrics. There is much contrast here too, little licks of cute guitar movement and tinkling piano. Loved the drastic change of this one to illuminate the frustrations.
“Come Running” has the feeling of stumbling through, wading through honey, the lilting guitar and drum struggling through as she begging for someone to give her a reason to leave her addictive lifestyle.
“A Good Time Pushed” gives a finality to the wandering thoughts, exploding in a sonorous celebration of personal empowerment and the choice to choose. It reflects close to the opening title song, strong backing instruments encapsulating newfound self-discovery.
Album Cover Connections
Her album cover puts her on a little musician’s island floating out at sea.
She is accompanied by a flamingo, its pink body contrasted from the moody sky.
In the video for “Nobody Loves You More” she serenades her flamingo friend, surreal and dreamlike as it dances with her during the instrumental break and she mimics its movements.
Flamingos have been used to represent transformation, personal growth, and the idea of becoming what you surround yourself with.
They also incredibly stand out, as Deal lets her individuality and creative uniqueness shine in the album.
They also appear delicate and unassuming, but actually are quite strong.
Her little island is full of muted bright colors, connecting perhaps to how she wants to surround herself with good things but they feel muted by addiction or past troubles.
A dark and dreary sky is above and behind her represent the hardships in her life. Behind her, but not forgotten, as personal grief can be.
With no other humans around her, her solitary perhaps shows her desire to seek self-reflection, or the fact that she has cast out those who she now deems hurtful.
Her eyes gaze up and away from the viewer, looking to the future.
Under her chair is a planet, the brightest color on the cover. She has her own little world that she is the owner of and she stands as if to protect it.
Her outfit looks akin to a marching band uniform with the stripes down the side and star emblem; she is the maker of her own band now, the baton in her hand.