Suki Waterhouse’s “Memoir of a Sparklemuffin” is an album that, as the title would suggest, serves as a memoir of Alice Suki Waterhouse’s life. 

Waterhouse started out as a model, writing songs in her free time at the age of 16, so she has had time to grow throughout her career. With each EP and album, from “Brutally” to “I Can’t Let Go,” her confidence has grown.  

“Memoir of a Sparklemuffin” is by far her most outgoing album. Waterhouse’s faith in herself and her ability to tell her story can be felt with ease throughout the lyrics of the songs. This confidence is hard to miss, from the album’s name to the titles of her songs.

Immediately, when looking at the track titles on the album a few are quite striking, such as “Gateway Drug,” the very first song, “Blackout Drunk,” and “Helpless.” 

Each song on the album seems to create a whole different world from the last, there are songs like “Big Love” and “Supersad” that start out with a rock-like guitar tone, contrasting with Waterhouse’s soft voice, creating a unique kind of music that not many people can get away with making.

Then there are songs such as “Faded,” “My Fun,” and “Could’ve Been A Star,” that sound similar to Waterhouse’s earlier music. With soft acoustic guitars and the melodic voice well loved among fans of the singer. 

“I think Suki Waterhouse’s voice is just really pretty,” senior Camryn Myers shared.  

“Faded”

“Faded” feels like landing a skate trick on the first try, it feels like biking down a big hill, or hitting a tennis ball at just the right time in the right way. It’s the most satisfying song on the album, and it’s fair to say that it’s one of the most well-made of Waterhouse’s songs.

The way that Waterhouse hits each note perfectly, sliding from one line and note to the next, gives the listener an inexplicable satisfaction, making the song addictive in a sense. 

Waterhouse sings, “Living in a movie ‘cause you look just like James Dean…” The lyrics make you feel the weight of your age, the weight of being a teenager and feeling time pass you, feeling all the most monumental moments of your youth fade away as you get older. 

Growing out of your teenage years is a very scary concept, the idea that your world is never gonna be as small and comfortable as it is in high school is frankly, super frightening, but everyone goes through it, even a celebrity that may seem larger than life. 

“Lullaby”

On this song, Waterhouse sings, “You and your blue eyes, here in my room,” with the melody echoing across ears, humming into the brain of whoever listens. It’s easy to forget all that is going on around you in the present when this song comes on, all worry and anxiety seems to fall through the cracks of your brain as Waterhouse’s soft and angelic voice hums you into a higher state of being.

“Her voice is so soothing and relaxing,” junior Hadley Milhomme said. 

“Lullaby” is a dream not found through sleep, but through soft guitar plucking, melted-together instruments, and a mothering voice softly singing about wishing the person she loves would stay with her through the night.

The song has a dreamy quality that stands out from the rest of the album, and if one were to listen to this song right after they’ve woken up in the morning, they’d surely fall back asleep. 

“Gateway Drug”

Luckily, this song isn’t about an ongoing struggle with alcoholism like it may seem, but rather, as you rise up the staircase of Waterhouse’s wispy vocals and rhythmics, the song expresses the need to be a sort of gateway drug for someone. 

“Let me be your gateway drug… one hit and you’ll lose control,” Waterhouse sings, explaining how if she were to let out her love to someone, it could be a safe place they wouldn’t want to leave. 

The intensity of the beat and the relentless vibrations that come out of this song make it impossible to ignore how strongly Waterhouse feels about the topic, making it one of the bolder songs on the album. 

Waterhouse’s album takes listeners through the struggles she’s had in life, such as love, growing up, fame, as well as the beauty of daily life. 

Waterhouse shared in an interview with Scott Simon for NPR, “I love that I can have these benchmarks of my own history, where I can go back to a song and know exactly where I was and kind of be reminded of who I was and what I kind of thought about my world at that point.”