Small indie pop star Ally Evenson released her first EP, In My Dreams, You Laugh At Me in 2023, and followed up with powerful, brilliant and hypnotic 13 track BLUE SUPER LOVE in late 2024. From a small town just outside of Detroit, Michigan, Ally Evenson showcases what makes underground pop music powerful. Lyrically unmatched, produced elegantly by Matthew Pimental and Maxwell Stutz, BLUE SUPER LOVE makes for a truly unique, one-of-a-kind album.
On the opening track, “Sh*tty Heaven”, Evenson is brutally honest lyrically. At only 27, Evenson sings about feeling as though the life she was given is fulfilled, or, from a more cynical viewpoint, not worth it. With the hypnotizing, almost whispery vocals from Evenson, the opening track brings you into the album in a way that few musicians ever have been able to do. Evenson discusses ideas of legacy on this track as well, singing “Will I be more than just a face? Will I be more if I’m erased?” The contrast of the lush production with smooth vocals paired up against the pessimistic lyrics are what makes the opening track as captivating as it is.
On the third track, “Cross My Fingers”, Evenson backs away from the incredibly personal lyrics and takes it in a new direction. She writes of the feeling of being friends with someone and not knowing if the friendship would or could work out as more than a friendship. She talks about making promises to stay just friends but her heart not agreeing with what she is saying.
She sings “Two months after we met sitting on a park bench making weird promises, we said, keep it relaxed, half in half out. But I think I wanna be around you all the time.” The production on this song is more upbeat and poppy than most on the album, at some points even reminiscent of many people’s pick for their album of the year, Charli XCX’s brat.
Perhaps the best song on the album, however, comes in at around the halfway point of the album. The seventh track, “Obituary” is absolutely stunning. The track is slower than most of the album, however, the vocals and lyrics make it the standout. The song discusses reading an obituary in The Sunday Times, and becoming so obsessed with the person that you begin to fall in love with them. A concept that can really only be sung about with tact and precision, Evenson delivers.
The track opens with an 8-second-long lo-fi humming, and then Evenson does what she does best- draws us in to the song and makes us invested. “Saw your picture in The Sunday Times. Found unresponsive on the couch. I wish I’d met you in the right place, at the right time. We’d talk about your only child. It feels like love.” A brilliant extreme of falling in love with someone who you know you won’t be able to actually pursue a life with.
The album consists of fast, upbeat pop songs, sometimes reminiscent of Charli XCX or Magdalena Bay, and slower songs with whispery vocals, very similar to those like Billie Eilish.
On her very first full-length album, Evenson manages to create an interesting and unique soundscape that is seen so rarely in pop/indie music. She creates an image for the listener on every track, draws them in, grabs them by the throat and does not let go until the very last second, where the listener can finally breathe again. Rating: A
