Kimya Dawson

Remember That I ? You

[5/5] If Kimya Dawson hadn’t discovered the guitar, odds are good she’d be permanently parked on her therapist’s couch. The Moldy Peaches cofounder and anti-folk icon has plenty to worry about, and she’s not afraid to lay it all out on Remember That I ? You, her fifth solo album. When not fretting about the voices in her hospital-bound mother’s head (“My Mom”), Dawson is obsessing over world affairs (the Bush-bashing “Loose Lips”) or speaking to the inner loser in all of us (“The Competition” finds Dawson cataloging her long list of failures). Remember is unapologetically lo-fi, its 12 songs built off determinedly off-kilter vocals and shambling guitars; and yet, for all the offbeat touches–Fisher-Price keyboards, woozy violins, hushed mandolin–Dawson’s wide-eyed hope and wonder are the album’s most affecting qualities. Because when she reaches out with lines like “If you wanna kill yourself, remember that I love you/Call me up before you’re dead, we can make some plans instead,” really, who needs therapy?
(K) Mike Usinger