Sorry I Haven't Called

by Vagabon

Overview

The self-titled second album by Laetitia Tamko's Vagabon project marked a shift from the singer/songwriter's earlier guitar-based style to a much more electronic sound, as she mainly wrote music on her laptop while touring. Her life changed considerably with the death of her best friend in 2021. She relocated to a remote village in Northern Germany, with no phone service, and worked on music by herself. Going to raves in dark clubs helped her process her grief, and she continued incorporating more dance music influences into her songs. The album was finished in Los Angeles with co-producer Rostam Batmanglij, and additional production and co-writing by several other friends. Right from the opening song, "Can I Talk My Shit?," her lyrics are both more blunt and more sensual, and her voice sounds higher in register and more delicate, almost entirely removed from the dusky feel of her earlier releases. Despite the heaviness of the life events that lead to the album's creation, the music is also lighter and more vibrant, even if the songs are about the difficulty of moving on, like the gentle Afro-pop groover "Carpenter." "You Know How" is an intimate confessional aimed at someone she wants to be more than friends with, set to a thumping deep house rhythm. A light disco-funk rhythm propels "Lexicon"'s message about dancing all night to keep from worrying about romantic feelings and relationship troubles. The easygoing midtempo pulse of "It's a Crisis" would seem a lot less tense as an instrumental, and a partial release comes in the form of a horn solo which sounds like it's being played from the edge of a tunnel. Most devastating is the atmospheric drum'n'bass tune "Do Your Worst," in which Tamko faces someone giving off bad energy and turning her into someone she doesn't like. Final song "Anti-Fuck" is the closest Tamko comes to revisiting the indie rock angst of her debut, with distorted guitars simmering beneath her vulnerable lines which seek for clarity in a relationship. Though Tamko continues to address uneasy subjects and feelings with her music, she sounds more assured than before on her illuminating third album. ~ Paul Simpson

Product Details

Release Date:	09/15/2023
Label:	Nonesuch
UPC:	0075597911633
Rank:	41235

Tracks

1. Can I Talk My Shit?
2. Carpenter
3. You Know How
4. Lexicon
5. Passing Me By
6. Autobahn
7. Nothing to Lose
8. It's a Crisis
9. Do Your Worst
10. Interlude
11. Made Out With Your Best Friend
12. Anti-Fuck

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Vagabon   Primary Artist
Rostam Batmanglij   Bass,Drums,Harmonica,Mellotron,Wurlitzer,Percussion,Synthesizer,Drum Machine,Guitar (Bass),Wah Wah Guitar,Bass (Electric),Piano (Upright),Guitar (Electric),Guitar (Nylon String)
Henry Solomon   Saxophone
Casey Manierka-Quaile   Organ,Wurlitzer,Synthesizer
Julie Byrne   Vocals (Background)
Jakob Hersch   Synthesizer,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Laetitia Tamko   Drums,Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Sampling,Mellotron,Synthesizer,Guitar (Electric)
Jack McLaine   Bass,Synthesizer
Teo Halm   Sampling
Joey Messina-Doerning   Congas,Percussion,Guitar (Bass)
Andrew Tachine   Drums
Sadek Marssarweh   Guitar

Technical Credits

Emily Lazar   Mastering
Rostam Batmanglij   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Programming,Drum Programming,Synthesizer Programming
Andrew Maury   Mixing
Trayer Tryon   Composer,Producer,Additional Production
Jeremy Hatcher   Engineer
Alex Tumay   Mixing
Casey Manierka-Quaile   Composer,Producer,Programming,Drum Programming,Additional Production
Nacor Zuluaga   Mixing Assistant
Donna Missal   Composer
Chris Allgood   Mastering
Jakob Hersch   Composer,Producer,Programming,Additional Production
Laetitia Tamko   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Programming,Voice Sample,Drum Programming
Jack McLaine   Engineer,Producer,Programming,Drum Programming,Additional Production
Teo Halm   Producer,Drum Programming,Additional Production
Alexa Carrasco   Art Direction
Bradley Pinkerton   Package Design
Joey Messina-Doerning   Engineer
Andrew Kim   Mixing Assistant
Jack Geoffrey McLaine   Composer
Sadek Marssarweh   Composer,Producer,Additional Production
Nick Noneman   Engineer
Ace Amir   Cover Art