Suki Waterhouse’s sophomore album, “Memoir of a Sparklemuffin” (2024), is a love story about her fiancé, artistry and self. Waterhouse expands her range by including more upbeat and stripped-back tracks than on her 2022 album “I Can’t Let Go,” while elevating her signature reverberated dream-pop.
Released on Sept. 13, the album is Waterhouse at her most compelling as she tells the story of her complicated relationship and career in full, with both its beauty and darkness. Across 18 songs, her angelic voice and intimate storytelling assemble to create her best project yet.
“Memoir of a Sparklemuffin” is not about magical baked goods, as the name may suggest. In actuality, a sparklemuffin is quite the opposite — an iridescent Australian spider whose mating ritual is an intricate dance. It serves as a metaphor for one of the central themes of the record: how Waterhouse makes her art and loves people in a desperate, frantic manner. She’s afraid that if her performance isn’t good enough, she will lose everything — just as the spider will fail his life’s purpose (and potentially be killed) if his dance is inadequate.
The album begins with “Gateway Drug,” a quiet, and later explosive, plea for a lover to open up. Next is “Supersad,” a standout banger featuring an ’80s-esque pop-rock sound. The lyrics follow a disappointed Waterhouse as she shifts her mindset from dejection to confidence. “Wash my face, fix my hair / Swear to God I’m over being so damn scared / I look so much better, when I don’t care,” she sings. The chorus follows: “Lose my mind, always get it back / There’s no point in being supersad.”
Waterhouse soon proceeds to the focus of her musical memoir: her relationship with her partner of six years, current fiancé and father of her six-month-old daughter, actor Robert Pattinson. “Nonchalant” shows Waterhouse’s fear of being known intimately as the two begin flirting but also examines her strong desire for his love. In the next song, “My Fun,” she gives in and admits it’s nice to be in love. The standout, sunny, 60s-pop-influenced track makes one want to picnic, ride bikes, play in a creek all day and just be lovely.
Waterhouse shines in “Model, Actress, Whatever,” a classic Suki Waterhouse song with honey-like vocals, reminiscent lyrics and soft-but-booming production. Waterhouse condemns those who doubted her, inviting them to call her whatever they like, because she has everything she needs. The chorus begins with, “All of my dreams came true,” and to end it Waterhouse declares, “[the] other half of my story is with me forever.”
Waterhouse’s relationship isn’t perfect, though. On the upbeat “OMG,” the album’s most-streamed single, tensions erupt. “My baby’s no good for me / and nothing’s ever easy,” she yells. The song is anthemic, cathartic and catchy, yet reveals disconnection from her partner. This sentiment deepens on “Everybody Breaks Up Anyway,” where Waterhouse seems to be preemptively mourning the relationship. “I wanna believe that we’re not doomed / I’m blowing through my chances / like I’m blowing smoke at you,” she sings. The music and backing vocals swell, and one can imagine her on a hazy stage, singing out what love she has left and looking in her partner's eyes as she croons, “Love never lasts, but I’m gonna stay on your mind forever.”
However, these lows must have been what Waterhouse and her partner’s love needed to revive itself. In the penultimate track, “Helpless,” Waterhouse speaks from a power independent of her love. “You’re calling me helpless, I could set you free, yeah” she sings. With its ascending melody, “Helpless” feels like the turning point for Waterhouse. She is arriving at the Utopia she’s been seeking for so long.
The final song of “Memoir of a Sparklemuffin” is titled “To Love.” It is both the closing track and the album’s first single — in short, its message is the one thing Waterhouse wants to ensure listeners take to heart. She speaks about destiny, the trials she and Pattinson have overcome, how just one change in their fates could have kept them from each other and how lucky she feels to have him at her side. Like she’s shouting from the rooftops, she cries, “Now I found myself this kind of love / I can’t believe it, I’ll never leave it behind.”
“Memoir of a Sparklemuffin” will not be every listener’s favorite. Appealing to indie and alternative pop lovers, especially those who feel they connect to her story, Waterhouse’s style, sound and subject matter are quite specific.
Still, she does what she does incredibly well, and many of these songs exceeded my expectations. In standout tracks like “Model, Actress, Whatever,” “Supersad” and “To Love,” Suki Waterhouse outdoes herself. The production is engaging and varied, thanks to the almost 20 total producers who contributed across the record, yet the album still feels unified. The lyrics are masterful and Waterhouse’s incredible voice is on show. For anyone interested in listening to a woman tactfully tell of a relationship in its full humanity, I recommend giving this album a listen.
