SUBJECT TO CHANGE / Kelsea Ballerini / September 23, 2022
- Joshua Yoo
- Oct 7, 2022
- 1 min read
Updated: Oct 22, 2022
In the realm of modern country, Kelsea Ballerini has always taken the genre near its limits, finding potency in blending other nearby genres into her own artistry. With ‘SUBJECT TO CHANGE’, she pushes strongly on both her pop and country sides, expanding the scope of her sound to a bolder, more all-embracing palette.
As comfortably expected, Kelsea explores a lot of love and good times in her songwriting, and perhaps doubly expected, it’s all presented pretty simple and straightforward. What differentiates her writing is the emotional warmth it carries, personal and open to her own experiences that feel real when listening. The cute romantic confessions aren’t soulless, but heartfelt and often bursting at the seams with energy (“HEARTFIRST”).
With overall busier production, and plenty of sounds from early ‘00s country, the album seems to have a lot of fun embracing its genre’s roots, especially on tracks like “IF YOU GO DOWN (I’M GOIN’ DOWN TOO)” where Kelsea wears her influences unapologetically. Some of these moments occasionally feel contrived, as do some of the more straightforward pop cuts as well, but over the 15-track runtime the highlights help balance them out.
The overall personal transformation Kelsea details is infectious, and it’s hard not to appreciate the perspective she provides on the album. It gives a slightly different angle to familiar country tropes that makes this worth checking out for the genre’s non-listeners.
Highlight(s): THE LITTLE THINGS, UNIVERSE, WEATHER, SUBJECT TO CHANGE, IF YOU GO DOWN (I’M GOIN’ DOWN TOO), HEARTFIRST
Lowlight(s): I GUESS THEY CALL IT FALLIN’, I CAN’T HELP MYSELF, MUSCLE MEMORY
SCORE: 6/10
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