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Aug 06, 2021 Web Exclusive By Caleb Campbell

Kississippi has long flirted at the edges of genre conventions, beginning all the way back when bandleader Zoe Reynolds was recording her first acoustic demos in her mom’s laundry room. Since then she’s diverted into confessional emo pop and indie rock, eventually making her full-length debut with 2018’s perennially underrated Sunset Blush. However, from the opening moments of her latest effort, Mood Ring, the driving impulse of the record is big, bright, and shimmering pop music.

An indie rock act turning to synth-laden pop music is a move nearly as old as indie rock itself, but what is immediately striking in Mood Ring is how unabashed and joyous Reynold’s pop revamp is. If Sunset Blush dipped a toe into synth pop, Mood Ring dives into the deep end from the opening moments of “We’re So In Tune.” With shouted gang vocals straight out of Lorde’s Melodrama and vibrant, neon-lit synth tones, Reynolds tributes the dizzying loved-up early days of a relationship.

Often, the record feels strongest in these moments. Reynolds is a true talent with a pop hook, an intrinsic affinity that is only bolstered by the production from Andy Park, and contributions from a variety of guest musicians, including illuminati hotties’ Sarah Tudzin and Phoebe Bridgers sideman Marshall Vore. On “Around Your Room,” Reynolds is a dead-ringer for 1989-era Taylor Swift, capturing the euphoric days of adolescent infatuation with pitch-perfect gauzy synth pop. Similarly, the brilliantly syrupy chorus and powerhouse vocal performance on “Big Dipper” are pure saturated pop brilliance, delivered on an indie band budget.

Not every track is able to hit those highs, as some, like “Play Til You Win,” result in Reynolds feeling too anonymous in the layers of electronic instrumentation. But at the record’s best, Reynolds is able to pull in elements from her folk and emo roots, ‘80s-tinged dance pop, and even country pop to create a true encapsulation of her range of influences, all the way from CHVRCHES to early Taylor Swift.

While Mood Ring does introduce Reynolds as a particularly potent starry eyed pop songwriter, the polished makeover hasn’t blunted her talent for poignant lyricism. Reynolds initially conjures sweeping nostalgic visions of young love, held pristine in glassy memory where the pain of heartbreak can’t touch them. Songs like such as “Moonover” hold all of the innocence and heart of an adolescent crush distilled into driving pop rock一“Hold out forever/Your scintillating light/Flows through whomever/Moons over your voice tonight.”

Even so, darkness creeps in around the edges of the record. As the album wears on themes of guilt and obsession come to the fore with tracks like “Wish I Could Tell You,” where Reynolds confesses “I was falling away/I thought I let slip/Just how to split myself right in two/To keep being/To keep being around you.” Finally, the spacious guitar-driven closer “Hellbeing” gives voice to Reynold’s insecurities as she invites a former partner to “burn all your daylight on me/An eyesore, a hellbeing.”

If her debut saw Reynolds beginning to find her voice, Mood Ring feels in some ways simpler in scope, with Reynolds content to create on her terms amidst her friends. It’s an invariably welcoming and largely uncomplicated listen, filled with big pop hooks and pastel nostalgic delights. Though perhaps that isn’t the follow-up fans will be expecting for Sunset Blush, Mood Ring undoubtedly feels like the record Zoe Reynolds wanted to make, showing off an evident joy and camaraderie that shines bright even in the record’s more downcast moments. That same infectious heart makes for an album of sincere vulnerability, the kind of album tailor-made for dancing lovestruck around your room. (www.kississippi.bandcamp.com)

Author rating: 7/10