During his 2011 TEDx Talk, the then 19-yearold singer-songwriter Garrett Borns regaled the audience with the story of when he went to perform in Paris and how he was nervous about the language barrier since he spoke no French.
But when he sang and played his ukulele, he realised how quickly he was able to connect with the people. “The ultimate language of love is music … The ultimate connector,” he maintained with a soft smile.
Borns’ deep passion for music can be traced as far back to his teenage years in West Michigan where he honed his musical talent in small-time local bands. Then, upon relocation to LA a few years later, he reemerged as Børns, and along with the new moniker came his androgynous look and exuberant four-track EP Candy, followed by his 2015 full-length debut, the glam pop-leaning Dopamine.
Still a firm believer in the music’s ability to connect people, Borns has returned with his studio follow-up, Blue Madonna. Produced by Tommy English (New Politics, Ladyhawke, Robert DeLonge), the album finds him ramping up the glamour and nostalgia of his previous output with help from songwriters Thomas Schleiter, Angelo Petraglia as well as the empress of doomed glamour herself Lana Del Rey.
And it’s precisely her signature ill-fated romanticism that Del Rey brings to opening track God Save Our Young Blood (as well as the title track). “Baptised in blue skies/ Roll the window down, reach out, feel around for new life,” both duet atop floaty keys and a drum machine rumble before fixating on youth and that good ol’ West Coast lovin.’ “God save our young blood … God save our young love/ Warm waves … On the coast where we love.”
The full-throttle Faded Heart is made with a stadium in mind. “High as a pretty star/ Don’t you break my faded heart,” he croons in soaring falsetto, his vocals doubled to maximise the impact. Sweet Dreams recalls the sinister electro-psychedelic vibes of Wild Beasts’ final record Boy King whereas We Don’t Care, set to spry sitar strumming and crunchy guitar riffs, struts and stomps its way around the somewhat muddled lyrics (“We’re face to face without faces/ Lined up from coastline to coast like static sky.”
Elsewhere, Borns redeems himself on Iceberg, a stunning, sonically textured track built on piano chords and scuzzy guitars. With that said, however, he’s most at home on nostalgic numbers like I Don’t Want U Back, which offers a slice of nostalgia with the late ‘80s production, and power ballad of a closer Bye-bye Darling.
While Blue Madonna may not offer a huge stylistic departure from Dopamine, Borns has managed to add enough bells and whistles to make it a varied, enjoyable listen. Whether you’re a baby boomer looking to feel nostalgic or a millennial looking for an androgynous artist to idolise, this guy has it all — and then some.
THE PLAYLIST
ISANJAH/ Muan Num Aai (Roll Num I)
If Srirajah Rockers’ 2016 single, Don’t Cry (featuring Rasmee) and Rin Da Rast’s E-San Reggae demonstrated just how compatible reggae and Isan music were, rising Maha Sarakham collective Isanjah is hoping to do the same with Muan Num Aai (Roll Num I). Set to skank guitar, phin and khaen, the track finds the Thai group incorporating elements of spiritual African music called Nyabinghi into their production while vocalist Pattaradon Ekchatree sings about the simple joy rolling a joint with his favourite girl. More of this wholesome fusion, please.
Ansel Elgort/ Supernova
It turns out that Baby Driver actor Ansel Elgort, aka the dudes who looks like he’s perpetually pouting, is also a singer and he’s about to drop his debut EP, Supernova. Here, we’re treated to the eponymous lead cut in which he sing-speaks over generic trap beats. “I met you in California/ You told me you loved him in Georgia/ Your heart’s in the ground, frozen over/ My heart’s in the sky, supernova,” Elgort bemoans in his sad-boy timbre, triggering an inexplicable, frantic flute section that sounds as if he was inspired by Bjork’s Utopia.
Trembling Bells/ Christ’s Entry Into Govan
In their own words, Glaswegian psych-folk quintet Trembling Bells are a band “who seek to reanimate the psychic landscapes of Great Britain and relocate them to some vague, mythic land where basic human crises are encountered and conquered”. If that sounds a bit abstruse to you, let’s just say that this bunch churns out an intriguing mix of psychedelia, ‘70s Brit folk, prog-rock and Americana. Case in point is their latest offering Christ’s Entry to Govan. Inspired by the Flemish Expressionist James Ensor’s 1889 painting Christ’s Entry Into Brussels, the track showcases singer Lavinia Blackwall’s crystalline vocals and mythical lyrics coupled with the all-out jamming that concludes its final minutes in an epic fashion.
Troye Sivan/ My My My!
Pop open the champagne. Throw rainbow confetti. Alert the unicorns. It’s the official coming-out party for Troye Sivan. My My My! finds the 22-year-old Australian singer-songwriter fully embrace his millennial gay pop icon status with the combined confidence of Madonna and the late George Michael. “Oh my, my, my!/ I die every night with you … Living for your every move,” he croons with unbridled joy, celebrating and cherishing the freedom to be who he is and love whomever he wants.
The Moffatts/ Secrets
Before the K-pop craze, there was the Moffatts craze. Started back in the late ‘90s, it arrived on the back of the Canadian brothers’ by-the-numbers pop hits Miss You Like Crazy, I’ll Be There For You, and Girl of My Dreams. After releasing two studio albums (1998’s Chapter 1: A New Beginning and 2000’s Submodalities), the four bros called it quits — only to later reunite and return with a comeback single, Secrets. The track itself is a soft-rock number complete with a stadium-sized guitar solo. A mature departure from their previous material, although not exactly worth the 18-year wait.
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