by Alice Zakusilo (@GhostyShibe)
From the vibrant chaos of LA to the serene introspection of POWER, illuminati hotties' latest album is a transformative journey through love and loss. Sarah Tudzin reinvents her sound with a newfound heartfelt grace. illuminati hotties began as an extension of her work as a producer and sound engineer, starting life in 2017 as a creative side project exploring the tenderpunk genre. However, it gained broader recognition around 2021, with albums like Kiss Yr Frenemies and Free I.H. POWER, Tudzin’s fourth LP, stands out as the most sonically different within her discography, marking a departure from her older works.
Compared to illuminati hotties' previous records, POWER takes on a whole new perspective. It's not as much a foray into a wild, mischievous, wry, fireball of riot grrl experimentation like the previous albums were. It becomes more of a laid-back, charismatic, and dynamic indie sound. POWER explores the dichotomy of change, functioning as a journey through both Tudzin’s love and loss. It showcases her blossoming love for her partner, musician Maddie Ross, but also the extreme loss and grief upon losing her mother. The compelling narrative is about how that loss transformed Tudzin and how in the same vein the love she had for Ross altered her. This illustrates Tudzin’s evolving perspective on life, and what exactly it means to grow as a person. It's a progression of her personal growth that the listener engages with. POWER is a maturation of the illuminati hottie's sound, from the sharp edges and crazy attitude comes a softer and gentler side, indicative of the recent changes in her life being shown within the music. This doesn’t mean all the frantic energy of the previous illuminati hotties albums is completely gone, that wild spitfire of liveliness still exists, just in a different form.
“Sleeping In” arises as a joyous celebration of the small acts of love. It is gentle and soft, reveling in domestic bliss. It embraces the simple joys, such as getting to sleep in and waking up next to someone you love. The song focuses on how love has changed Tudzin, how before her relationship she did not enjoy sleeping in, but now because Ross does, she does too, simply because she gets to wake up next to her. There is a serene tranquility as she brings her sleeping partner her favorite mug, allowing the listener to look into the small tokens of adoration that they share. Despite their differences, they’re still able to have this harmonious life together and find peace. The celebration continues through the composition of this song, the vocals are light, sweet, and gentle, and have a sunny disposition to them. The guitar is soft and breezy. All of this contributes to the manifestation of overwhelming joy in this newfound love.
As the album draws to a close, “Everything Changes” insists on making the listener contemplative, immersed in vulnerability and introspection. Tudzin’s walls have truly come down, and there is a unique vulnerability being shown as she showcases her struggles to cope with the grief of losing her mother. It's ballad-like, reflecting on how difficult it is to feel stuck while everyone moves on with their lives. Tudzin reflects on how radically everything has shifted and how she will not be the same, how this loss has uprooted her life. Stylistically, it's one of the simpler tracks on the album, heavily relying on her heart-wrenching vocals and an airy guitar. The outro has this ethereal and ambient sound, it leaves this contemplative aura as it softly fades out.
POWER exists as a transformative canvas wherein Tudzin paints with the hues of grief and joy. illuminati hotties’ sound has matured, venturing beyond her chaotic, angry, and vibrant past into a quieter and self-contemplative sound. A poignant symphony of love’s quiet, gentle, and mundane moments as well as the echoing, aching pain of grief. The tracks on this album weave a delicate tapestry of emotions, each track containing a profound evolution in Tudzin’s artistry as a musician. POWER becomes an evocative adventure through the ever-changing landscapes of growth, it leaves the listener with a lingering sense of its dynamic dichotomy - the multi-faceted ways both love and loss impact a person on their journey.