4.0 out of 5.0 stars4.0
Suki Waterhouse’s newest album, “Memoir of a Sparklemuffin,” has been a long time coming. Released Sept. 13, the album is quintessentially Suki, a collection of smooth lyricism, punchy pop, powerful rock and atmospheric ballads. Waterhouse’s sophomore album is an amalgamation of everything that has gotten her to where she is now.

Waterhouse is no stranger to the entertainment industry. Discovered in a department store at age 16, she kicked off her expansive career in Hollywood as a model. Waterhouse went on to act in massive films like  “Love, Rosie” and “Divergent: Insurgent.” She broke into music in 2016 with her first single “Brutally,” followed by “Good Looking” the following year — which would later become a smash hit, going platinum in the U.S. Waterhouse released her first album “I Can’t Let Go” in 2022 to positive reviews, followed by a similarly received outtake EP, “Milk Teeth.”

When asked by Vogue if she would change anything in her past, Waterhouse said “I wouldn’t take anything back,” as if to say everything she’s experienced has brought her to “Memoir of a Sparklemuffin.” And for those commenting on the ridiculous album title, Waterhouse would agree. The title is in reference to the Sparklemuffin arachnid, a colorful Australian spider that’s mating ritual stakes couldn’t be higher. Male sparklemuffins perform a dance in front of females. If this dance impresses the females, they can mate, but she will eat the male if his dance is unsatisfactory.

Waterhouse saw the similarities between the mating ritual and the music industry. She commented on how the spider “basically dances for its life,” much like how artists “dance” for Hollywood by releasing an album, and if their product is not received well, they could be eaten just like that. Waterhouse guides that theme throughout the album — the notion that stepping outside your designated Hollywood box could be an unappealing dance, leading to career evisceration.

This concept is examined by Waterhouse in the song “Model, Actress, Whatever.” The song explores her anxiety that there is no escaping what you’re already known for, even when you’re chasing your truest self. Waterhouse sings, “All of my dreams came true / the bigger the ocean, the deeper the blue / call me a model, an actress, whatever.” Waterhouse discusses how she feared releasing the song would solidify her as a “model, actress, [or] whatever,” doing the opposite of its intended effect of freeing her from that judgmental descriptor. The song was released as the final single from the album in an act of reclamation of her story and her career.

Waterhouse has been known to dabble in vintage aesthetics in the past, originally garnering fame for her 1960s-inspired fashion, and recently portraying keyboardist Karen Sirko in the Prime Video limited series “Daisy Jones and the Six.” Waterhouse clearly took this to heart with her album. The cover art depicts her clad in a 1950s flapper-style headpiece and a sheer bejeweled dress. With songs like “Think Twice” and “To Get You” feeling distinctly modern while simultaneously classic, “Memoir of a Sparklemuffin” includes nostalgic lyricism, a dreamy production and smooth vocals that evoke singers of the ’60s and ’70s. It blends these vintage elements with contemporary beats to create a slyly retro-inspired album in the modern music landscape.

Waterhouse describes her music as identifiable by a “swooning chorus,” a distinct feature of her  brand. She exemplifies this in “OMG,” a song about realizing someone is bad for you and wanting to escape their influence, a lesson Waterhouse likely learned from spending her formative years in Hollywood.

The 53-minute album is no breeze. It spans 18 songs, starting to drag toward the end, with some of the slower ballads at the back half beginning to melt together. This is unsurprising, given how Waterhouse’s best songs have always been those with a slow burn to an exciting climax, and songs like “Lullaby” feel weaker without that expected beat drop. Luckily, the album picks itself back up with the final track “To Love,” an airy, uncompromising and unapologetic love song, ending the album on a high note.

Anyone who has been following Waterhouse’s music career thus far knows “Memoir of a Sparklemuffin” delivers exactly what it promised: an emotional and powerful album transcending genres — and decades — with that classic Waterhouse romanticism. Listening to the album, one feels like all the songs are clouded in a pale, white mist. To quote track 5, “Nonchalant,” Waterhouse is “that quintessential cool girl.” With “Memoir of a Sparklemuffin,” she has cemented her place among the pillars of indie-pop. Suki Waterhouse has made it.