Kim Harris lives in another world. Her songs paint pictures of feelings and experiences that are too achingly beautiful, too ethereal to exist in our own dull universe. On her newest album, Heirloom, we’re lucky enough to get a glimpse of it.
“Sanctuary” is a somber start to an album full of somber moments. While there are certainly tracks with sunnier dispositions than their counterparts, even upbeat songs like “Uproar” leave a sharp pang in the chest. Meanwhile “Waking Up” is heart-wrenching, but hopeful at the same time. Harris sings a mantra to herself, “I was wanted once, I’ll be wanted again.” It’s such a simple line that so strongly encapsulates that feeling of hopelessness accompanied with a breakup or loss.
The songs elicit a feeling of longing for a world you’ve never seen, an aching in the chest that you can’t really attribute to a concrete factor. There seems to be a constant theme of rebirth and renewal – finding your spark again after going through something tragic or life-changing. Despite this fact, Harris doesn’t choose to end on a particularly hopeful note; “Neighbourhoods” has Harris pleading in a ghostly wail to someone who wasn’t everything they turned out to be.
“Good Luck” is one of the more poetic songs, which speaks volumes when compared to the rest of the album. The soft swell of horns at the end, coupled with Harris’s grandiose vocals, feel very inspired by Florence + the Machine. Harris’s otherworldly sound draws many such comparisons, but the more muted tracks bear an uncanny resemblance to lesser known indie act London Grammar.
Harris has a way of romanticizing the human body that few have mastered. In the world she’s built on Heirloom, there’s no room for the mundane. She sings powerful lines like “My collarbones have become swords” and “planets fall from my hip bones, a waning crescent from my palms,” weaponizing the skin we have no choice but to live in. This never feels angrily done. On the contrary – Harris has fortified herself to be protected from the heartbreak she sings about. Despite this, there is still a hopeful glimmer present that will stick with you just as much as the hard times.
Tour Dates:
03.05.20 – Truro, NS @ Marigold Theatre
03.07.20 – Bedford, NS @ House Concert
03.08.20 – Sackville, NB @ Thunder & Lightning
03.11.20 – Toronto, ON @ House Concert
03.12.20 – Ottawa, ON @ National Arts Centre
03.13.20 – Kingston, ON @ House Concert
03.14.20 – Montreal, QC @ Diving Bell Social Club
03.16.20 – Saint John, NB @ The Gahan House – Barrel Room
03.26.20 – Halifax, NS @ St. Andrew’s Church