''Desire, I Want to Turn Into You'' is the fourth overall studio album by American singer-songwriter and producer

Caroline Polachek Caroline Elizabeth Polachek (born June 20, 1985) is an American singer, producer, and songwriter. Raised in Connecticut, Polachek cofounded the indie pop band Chairlift while studying at the University of Colorado. The duo emerged from the late- ...

, and her second to be under her own name. It was released on February 14, 2023, by Polachek's imprint Perpetual Novice. Polachek produced most of the album alongside

Danny L Harle Daniel Jack Eisner Harle (born 25 September 1989) is a British music producer and composer who records under the name Danny L Harle. He was formerly signed to the London-based PC Music label and is a member of Dux Content with A. G. Cook. He h ...

. The album received widespread acclaim from critics, with several calling it Polachek's best work and acclaiming its experimentation. It charted in Belgium, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, and the US. It received a nomination for

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as th ...

at the 66th Grammy Awards. It was supported by the singles " Bunny Is a Rider", " Billions", "Sunset", " Welcome to My Island", "Blood and Butter" and "Smoke". A reissue of the album, subtitled ''Everasking Edition'', was released on February 14, 2024, the standard edition's first anniversary. It was supported by the singles " Dang" and a new version of " Butterfly Net" featuring

Weyes Blood Natalie Laura Mering (born June 11, 1988), known professionally as Weyes Blood (pronounced , like "wise blood"), is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She was primarily raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. She has been performing her o ...

Background

After releasing '' Pang'' in late 2019, Polachek was set to tour the record, but was cut short by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in March 2020. Polachek stayed in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and began work on ''Desire, I Want to Turn Into You'' with close collaborator

. She considers the album to be a major partnership with Harle, as the record has "few other collaborators in the mix". She continued work on the album in London until mid-2021, where she briefly relocated to

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

alongside Harle and new collaborator Sega Bodega. In November 2021, Polachek was featured on

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...

's " New Shapes" alongside

Christine and the Queens Rahim Claude Redcar (sometimes shortened to Chris or Redcar; born Héloïse Adélaïde Letissier; 1 June 1988) is a French singer and songwriter, best known under the pseudonym of Christine and the Queens. Born and raised in Nantes, he started ...

. She then embarked on a North American tour with French musician

Oklou Marylou Vanina Mayniel (born 23 April 1993), better known by her stage name Oklou (pronounced "Okay Lou"; ˈəʊkeɪ 'luː), is a French musician from Poitiers. Her debut mixtape ''Galore'' was released in 2020, which was followed up by her debu ...

for the remainder of 2021.

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( ; born22 August 1995) is an English and Albanian singer, songwriter and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Dua Lipa, Her accolades include seven Brit Awards and three Grammy Awards. Lipa worked as a model before v ...

announced Polachek as a supporting act on the North American and Canadian legs of the Future Nostalgia Tour from February to July 2022, performing at many festivals as well. Polachek was featured on

Flume A flume is a human-made channel for water, in the form of an open declined gravity chute whose walls are raised above the surrounding terrain, in contrast to a trench or ditch. Flumes are not to be confused with aqueducts, which are built to t ...

's "

Sirens Siren or sirens may refer to: Common meanings * Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies * Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology that lured sailors to their deaths. Places * Si ...

" in March, and wrote and produced the track " Afar" for Hyd in July. She rescheduled European tour dates to finish work on ''Desire, I Want to Turn Into You''. Six weeks ahead of the album release, in an interview with ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', Polachek confirmed three more song titles: "Blood and Butter", "Pretty in Possible", and "Smoke".

Composition

''Desire, I Want to Turn Into You'' has been described as an

art pop Art pop (also typeset art-pop or artpop) is a loosely defined style of pop music influenced by art theory, art theories as well as ideas from other art mediums, such as fashion, fine art, film, cinema, and avant-garde literature. The genre dra ...

alternative pop Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

, and new-age record, with elements of

drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

, and

trip-hop Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...

. Shaad D'Souza of ''The Guardian'' wrote: "Ratcheting up both the fantastical elements of its predecessor as well as its humour and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

instinct, ''Desire'' is an eclectic, elaborate and cheekily deranged sequel, and one of the year's most anticipated releases". The album features

bagpipes Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, N ...

, children's choirs, Spanish guitar, "beats that run the gamut" from ''

Ray of Light ''Ray of Light'' is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on February 22, 1998, by Maverick Records. A major stylistic and aesthetic departure from her previous work, '' Bedtime Stories'', ''Ray of Light'' is ...

''-style trip-hop to

dembow The dembow beat or dembow riddim is a musical rhythm best known for its use as the core percussion element in reggaeton music, having taken its name from the 1990 dancehall song " Dem Bow" by Shabba Ranks. The rhythm, first developed by Jamaican ...

, Celtic folk, and early '00s-style radio pop. Polachek herself described it as "a very maximalist album".

Release

''Desire, I Want to Turn Into You'' was announced in December 2022. At the

66th Annual Grammy Awards The 66th Annual Grammy Awards honored the best recordings, compositions, and artists from October 1, 2022, to September 15, 2023, as chosen by the members of The Recording Academy, on February 4, 2024. In its 21st year at the Crypto.com Arena ...

on February 4, 2024, Polachek hinted that she would be releasing something on

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

, which is ''Desire''s first anniversary. Three days later, the reissue of the album, subtitled ''Everasking Edition'', was announced.

Singles

Polachek released the lead single " Bunny Is a Rider" in July 2021, which was written before she went into

lockdown A lockdown () is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison protocol that us ...

. She released the trip hop inspired " Billions" as a single in February. Polachek stated the song took 19 months to finish. The single featured a rework of "Long Road Home", her collaboration with

Oneohtrix Point Never Daniel Lopatin (born July 25, 1982), best known as Oneohtrix Point Never or OPN, is an American Experimental music, experimental electronic music producer, composer, singer, and songwriter. His music has utilized wikt:trope, tropes from various ...

from his 2020 album '' Magic Oneohtrix Point Never'', as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

. "Sunset" was released as a single in October. Polachek has cited

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone ( , ; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, Orchestration, orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 film score, scores for cinema and televisi ...

Spaghetti Western The spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's filmmaking style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

film scores as an influence on the song. " Welcome to My Island", which Polachek calls her "brattiest song to date", was released alongside the album announcement. On January 20, a remix by Charli XCX and

the 1975 The 1975 are an English pop rock band formed in Wilmslow, Cheshire, in 2002. The band consists of Matty Healy (lead vocals, guitar, primary songwriter), Adam Hann (lead guitar), Ross MacDonald (bass), and George Daniel (drums, primary produ ...

's George Daniel was released. "Blood and Butter" was released on January 31, 2023. "Smoke" was released as a single on April 6, 2023, during her Spiraling Tour. It was accompanied by a music video that premiered on the same day. Polachek released " Dang" on October 17, 2023, as the lead single from ''Desire, I Want to Turn Into You: Everasking Edition''. She performed the song the same evening on ''

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night news satire, news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Stephen Colbert, Spartin ...

''. After Polachek and

performed " Butterfly Net" live together several times throughout 2023, including at the

Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

and

Fuji Rock Festival is an annual music festival, rock festival held in Naeba Ski Resort, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The three-day event, organized by Smash (Music promoters), Smash Japan, features more than 200 Japanese and international musicians, making it th ...

s, they released their joint version of the song on February 7, 2024, alongside the ''Everasking Edition'' announcement.

Critical reception

Upon release, ''Desire, I Want to Turn Into You'' received widespread acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 94, based on 19 critical reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave the album a 8.5 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. Reviewing the album for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Matt Collar opined that the album "finds Polachek unapologetically embracing her inner pop diva, purposefully referencing a '90s and early-2000s pop aesthetic. This is an album of balmy trip-hop grooves, where electric bass riffs, finger-snap beats, and sky-blue synths caress her angelically swooping vocals like dolphins chasing a boat. It's an immediately evocative vibe that she commits to, deftly walking a fine line between earnest romanticism and artful irony." He concluded that with the album, "Polachek breaks free from outside expectations and transforms her inner anxieties into an intoxicating pop euphoria." Cat Zhang of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' wrote that the album was the best of Polachek's career, giving it the distinction of Best New Music.

Maura Johnston Maura K. Johnston (born May 28, 1975) is a writer, editor and music critic. A member of Boston College's journalism faculty, she has written for ''Rolling Stone'', ''The Boston Globe'', ''Pitchfork'', ''The Awl'', ''The New York Times'', ''Spin' ...

reviewed the album positively for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', calling Polachek an "undeniable talent as a vocalist and arranger" and the album an "example of what happens when pop sets out to transcend its own limits." In a mixed review for ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'', Ella Kemp praised Polachek's experimentation but said that some tracks "suffer dfrom a more abstract vision" and called the album an "uneven collection". Gabbie Nirenburg also provided a middling review for ''No Ripcord'', calling the album "just fine". She questioned if there was "anything on this record that is really SO unique or special or different from every other competent art pop album out there?"

Tour

Polachek embarked on the Spiraling Tour to promote ''Desire, I Want to Turn Into You''. The tour included North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, beginning on 10 February in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, England and ending on 13 December 2023 in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia.

Track listing

Notes * signifies a co-producer * "Spring Is Coming With a Strawberry in the Mouth" is a cover of the 1986 song of the same name, as performed by

Operating Theatre An operating theater (also known as an Operating Room (OR), operating suite, operation suite, or Operation Theatre (OT)) is a facility within a hospital where surgical operations are carried out in an aseptic environment. Historically, the ter ...

. * "Coma" is a cover of "Pharmacoma (For Ben Deitz)" (2019), as performed by Default Genders. * "Long Road Home" is a rework of the 2020 song of the same name, as performed by

featuring uncredited vocals from Polachek. It was not initially included on the album, but was added to the ''Everasking Edition'' eight days after release. The reworked track was first released as the B-side to " Billions" in 2022.

Personnel

Musicians *

– lead vocals *

– bass (tracks 1, 3, 5, 9) * Dan Nigro – guitar (tracks 1, 5) * Nico Harle – additional vocals (track 3) * Marco Lopez – guitar (track 4) * Sega Bodega – guitar (track 4) * Samuel Organ – guitar (tracks 4, 10) * Miquel Mestres – guitar (track 7) * Brìghde Chaimbeul – bagpipes (track 8) * Kirin J Callinan – guitar (track 8) * Todd Oliver – guitar (track 10) * The Trinity Choir – additional vocals (tracks 10, 12) * Matthew Horton – guitar (track 11) Technical *

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound in New Jersey. Gehringer is known for having mastered recordings by popular artists such as AJR, Dua Lipa, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Gwen Stefani, Harry Styles, ...

– mastering * Geoff Swan – mixing * Macks Faulkron –

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

(track 8) Artwork * Aidan Zamiri – all photography * Yuma Burgess – subway map * David Uzquiza – packaging art direction,

monogram A monogram is a motif (visual arts), motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbo ...

design * Isha Dipika Walia – package design

Charts

References

External links