by Ljubinko Zivkovic (@zivljub)
Vivi Milne is one of those artists/musicians that wants to mainly rely on her music and a supporting set of images. That is, it. No big web pages, no Facebook, no Twitter. Sure, Bandcamp and Soundcloud are there. Oh, and Instagram. Just her music, album art, and a set of supporting images. All you can learn about Milne is that she is from Sacramento and that she has released six albums so far, of which Solstice is the latest.
Of course, that is a concept that can become a double-edged sword if either the music (in particular) or the images aren’t up to a scratch. Luckily for Milne and her listeners, her concept works, and it shrouds her persona, as well as her art, in a bit of a veiled mystery that essentially makes the engaged listener search for more. The key fact is that as Solstice shows, Milne operates in that very undefined left-field bedroom pop genre, where great melodies (“Blood,” “Big”) are combined with not so usual chord changes and Milne's hushed vocals. Songs range in length from just about a minute (“In Our Bugs”) to simply make a point or almost six minutes (“Promise”) when Milne finds it necessary to expand her ideas a bit further.
The same goes for Milne's lyrics. Covering a wide range of subjects, she gives them that essential personal touch that isn't too mushy or something that can be dubbed as navel gazing. It doesn't matter what theme she covers - pets (“Dog or Cat”), personal relations (“In 2”) or something else, she always presents an image, a mood piece that both her and the listener can relate to. All of it works together to create some incredible low-key music, that even when Milne resorts to recreate cat sounds (“Meow”), it all sounds so fresh and endearing. Maybe one day Milne will decide to reveal more of herself in written (online) words, but Solstice and her other albums are definitely proof of not just a talent, but an excellent artist.