Morgan Kibby mastered massive sounds on
White Sea's debut album
In Cold Blood and the soundtrack to Bang Gang, so it's not surprising that she wanted something more intimate for her next album. With her interactive project Postcards from Nowhere, she delivered songs to her listeners almost as quickly as she could write and record them. Those songs, as well as a few others, became
Tropical Odds, an album that proves that Kibby's music is still pretty epic-sounding even when she tones it down. Hearing a voice as ethereally gorgeous as hers singing about more down-to-earth subjects is somehow even more striking, whether she's getting "lost in my smoke" on "Stay Young, Get Stoned" or falling asleep in a taxi on the big, shiny pop of "Yesterday." She allows herself to try on different roles for size, spanning the vampy huntress of "Bloodline" to the 21st century
Sheena Easton of "Never a Woman." Kibby returns to her familiar grandeur for songs like "Ellipses"' apocalyptic romance and "Secret," which is as filmic as anything that appeared on Bang Gang (meanwhile, "Bloodmoon" boasts synths worthy of a
Carpenter soundtrack). Kibby makes the most of her freedom and versatility on
Tropical Odds and proves she can still thrill on a (somewhat) smaller scale. ~ Heather Phares