Singer-songwriter, Suki Waterhouse, released her sophomore album, ‘Memoir of a Sparklemuffin’, on September 13th, 2024, with the title inspired by the Australian “sparklemuffin” spider, which dances for its partner (or gets eaten). “God, it feels good to find someone who loves me like I love my fun”, Waterhouse sings on an early single from the album, ‘My Fun’, and for listeners, that sound of fun is infectious. But it’s not just sparkly songs here; Waterhouse has weaved an 18-track web of different emotions, highs and lows, and every song paints another chapter in her memoir.
My top 6 picks:
1. ‘To Get You’:
‘To Get You’ is the album’s sparkler, the firework in the singer’s memory, going off with a twinkle, not a bang– here, the shiny, blonde London-born spider is dancing on stage, reminiscing about the sins she committed just to get hold of her lover. Waterhouse’s voice when she sings the line, “To hold you, I had to”, perfectly reveals to the enchanted listener that while she is leading us down the lanes of her secrets, the crimes her soul’s performed, she’s also defending them: ‘I had to!’
2. ‘Nonchalant’:
‘Nonchalant’ is a quiet love song – not about the bold, Big Love (which is also a song on the album), but the hesitation, the wanting-to-call-back-so-badly-but-scared-to!-type feeling we have when we connect with someone, yet we have a closet-full of fears: “I don’t want the shoe to drop”, Waterhouse sings like a warning sign, and everyone’s been in her shoes. ‘Nonchalant’ is her Chappell Roan moment: the sparklemuffin is telling her lover she wants to call it love (but doesn’t), yet she wants to be the only one that they call baby – as long as it sounds nonchalant, babe!
3. ‘Think Twice’:
Favourite album lyric: “Me and my drifter mind, heart in the water, lost in the tide”.
“I always think twice and go back for a third time…” In this song, the sparklemuffin is reflecting on how it’s not just her lover abandoning her – she also abandons her good conscious, too. She knowingly steps into the shoes of a fool, to reunite with her “Devil”, who throws her mind into hot water. Waterhouse laments: “Swore you off again, but there’s some kind of smoke circling up ahead…” At this point in the love/hate story, she’s changed her licence plate, she’s driving out of state… but she thinks twice and goes back a third time, because the pull of heaven (though temporary) is just too great. Listeners will replay this song a fourth time.
(Waterhouse has spun her 18-track web of different emotions – and they all sparkle | Photo by Pixabay)
4. ‘Model, Actress, Whatever’:
“Careful what you ask, love for the ages/ when it’s good on the outside, part of the faking.” Lucky number seven on the album, this song is about Waterhouse reflecting on the highs and lows of Hollywood, fame, and how, despite her story perhaps being edited by different hands, her personal relationships – both with herself, her art, and her lover – is strong: “Other half of my baby, we stay together,’ she croons, and at the same time holding onto the book of who she is: a Model, an Actress, and you know What.
5. ‘Helpless’:
“I’m high like a queen, I fall like I’m church/when you drown me, I’m yours, you don’t let me forget.” This ballad is a love letter and memoir, both to her lover and herself: it’s a reflection, a look-back on the past 16 songs, and the moments that have led up to the sparklemuffin’s life up to this point. “You’re calling me helpless – I could set you free”, Waterhouse sings, explaining to her listeners that she holds the power, yet it doesn’t take away from her vulnerability – her heart’s still open like a child’s, but she’s the one holding her love up in hard times. She’s helpless to their charm, but it’s still her steady arm wrapped around them, her they’re leaning on. And, for the first time, she lets them: “I’ve done it all before, pack a bag and leave… when you’re calling me helpless, I could set you free.” The song could be Part Two of “To Get You”.
6. ‘Lawsuit’:
Before ‘Think Twice’ comes on and sends listeners into hot water, ‘Lawsuit’ plays like an ace card, and Waterhouse has some bad, bad news for an ex: “You think it’s bad boy, it’s about to get worse.” The song is about seeing a past lover again, and realizing they’re damaged beyond repair. It is the “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” moment on the record, about finding out you’ve got nothing left to say, only to regret, because it’s all been said before, by others: “I heard all about you, from the girls in line at the bathroom…” Baby’s got some bad news.This song is another great tune.
(Album cover artwork by Jeremy Soma | Instagram)
