BØRNS
Dopamine
Reviewed by: Matt Kelchner
An endorsement from pop’s girl gang queen Taylor Swift. Opening for Charli XCX and Jack Antonoff. Working with producers behind Lana Del Rey’s Born To Die and Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Fantasy. Playing at Firefly, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits. A lot has happened so far this year for 23 year old, California based singer/songwriter Garrett Borns aka BØRNS. Today he adds yet another major achievement to his already impressive list, the release of his debut album, Dopamine.
In an age where the boundaries of pop music are expanding further and further into new territories, BØRNS turns to the past for inspiration. Dopamine is a collection of 11 well crafted songs whose influence ranges from psych to Motown, and everything in between. It’s not just the wide array of different sounds that make the album unique, it’s the way that BØRNS takes bits and pieces of each and blends them all together.
Things kick off with “10,000 Emerald Pools”, one of the tracks from BØRNS previous Candy EP that can also be found on Dopamine. Choruses of falsetto harmonies a la the Beach Boys flow in and out of the song as hints of trademark surf guitar also surface. More oceanside riffs start off “The Emotion” and linger on. Other tracks like “Dug My Heart” and “American Money” feature synth heavy song structures paired with crawling beats that make for perfect late night jams.
Throughout Dopamine almost too perfect pop hooks can be found in abundance. BØRNS pushes his voice a smooth mid-range to drifting falsettos with ease. The album’s closer, “Fool” demonstrates this perfectly with varying levels of “Ooohs” reminiscent of the 60s girl groups everywhere throughout the song. To mix the old with the new, influences from Beach House, Passion Pit and Cults can be heard as well. For a debut album, Dopamine may not be perfect but it gives BØRNS a sturdy starting point to start his climb up the pop ladder.
Rating: Bad-Ass
