Review Summary: So close, no matter how far.
I, for one, was not disappointed when both halves of Let’s Eat Grandma duo announced their intention to try their hands at solo works. Of course I would like to have a new Let’s Eat Grandma album; it’s been a while since we had that. But why not have two albums instead? Besides, it was a chance to figure out who does what in this creative partnership, which is something I was curious about for a long time. However, out of the two, it is Rosa Walton’s solo effort that I was more curious about. Why? Because she already released at least one legitimately excellent song before. “I Really Want to Stay at Your House,” written for Cyberpunk 2077 videogame has been a mainstay of my playlists for the last couple of years, a memorable and sensitive yet daring and experimental song that melted my old heart. If anyone was able to release something more than just a cute indie pop album, it was Rosa Walton.
However, as soon as the first song “Heart to Heartbreak” kicked in, I thought to myself: “wait a minute, this is just “Quicksand Heart” all over again” Indeed, “Tell Me it’s a Dream” shares a lot of similarities with Jenny Hollingworth album that arrived just this January, at least in terms of melodic structure and lyrical content. Besides, Jenny makes an appearance here, singing a duet with Rosa on “Prettier Things,” just as Rosa provided backing vocals for Jenny’s album. Which does not mean that both albums are identical. For the purpose of this review, I think it would be more useful to highlight the differences, rather than dwell on the similarities.
First of all, “Tell Me it’s a Dream” is a rather diverse record, unlike Jenny’s album, which remained monolithic in its adherence to sweet, blissful indie pop sound. There’s plenty of that here as well, but Mrs. Walton also tries out some other things. Particularly, “Sorry Anyway” is a guitar-based track with almost punk vibe, and the guitars in general are a bit crunchier and braver here than on “Quicksand Heart.” Elsewhere, Rosa tries her hand at bigger symphonic pop sound on some songs, while for (unfortunately very short) “When Will It All Reveal” she turns to her glockenspiel to create an abundance of magic melodies, perfectly suited for her voice.
By the way, Rosa’s singing style and delivery also display a lot more variety in comparison to Jenny, who stayed in the same comfortable range throughout the album and never abandoned her usual girlish style. In contrast, Rosa utilizes her full capacities, experimenting with her more somber lower range in some places and raising her voice almost up to falsetto in others. That, among other things, means that the way Rosa’s voice interacts with the music is fundamentally different from that of Jenny’s. On “Quicksand Heart” Jenny’s vocals blended with the music almost seamlessly, perfect to a fault. Instead, Rosa’s singing often contradicts the music, engaging in a sort of tug-of-war with the instrumental part. Whose approach is better is a matter of personal taste. I would say that Jenny’s album is rather more immediate, while “Tell Me It’s a Dream” is more interesting and engaging for a listener. Besides, “Quicksand Heart” is clearly a front-loaded affair, whereas Rosa manages to maintain roughly the same level of quality throughout her album.
However, a lot of these differences are rather superficial, as both albums share the same wistfully romantic aura in their melodies and lyrics that dominates the LPs and blurs the lines between them. Jenny is better at bypassing a listener’s brain and going straight to their heart, whereas Rosa is more adventurous and playful, but both albums are essentially two sides of the same coin. Such is the way of life. Even while attempting to explore separate ways, the grandma-eating ladies ended up releasing albums that readily blend into each other. Oh, and “I Really Want to Stay at Your House” remains Rosa Walton’s best song as of now. Nothing on this LP comes even close.
