Within the amount of struggles wading on her mind, Katie Pruitt goes inwards for her sophomore album. ‘Mantras’ is a maturation of Katie Pruitt’s presence as a singer and a songwriter, all paired with strong compositions that compensate for the fitting albeit shifty production textures.
Back when Katie Pruitt released her debut project back in 2020, ‘Expectations’ was the sort of debut record where her presence on the microphone and the storytelling bay unleashes an amount of striking charm, a characteristic that’s only immersed deeper with the production that emphasizes the intimate spirit of that queer romance amidst religious hangups and family conflicts that she has to experience. With that much flair on display, there is an anticipated wait for whatever comes next, especially when she is the sort of musician within country circles who shows so much splendid potential. 4 years later, she finally followed it up with her sophomore album, ‘Mantras’.
In comparison with ‘Expectations’, there is a shift in the sound that ‘Mantras’ is undertaking. There might be some semblance of intimate charm within the softer yet powerful tunes, yet a lot of the guitar and drum textures now carry some heavy punch that is quite reminiscent of indie rock, allowing a lot of the country and Americana tapestries to have more pop. With a lot of the melodies still having a really strong foundation and Katie Pruitt’s vocals remaining as effectively rich as ever, it leads to the record having a lot of highlights. The shuffling grooves on ‘While Lies, White Jesus And You’ amidst the muscular guitars has Katie Pruitt carry that fantastic melodic throughlines with her impressive vocal sparks, the restrained tune of ‘Leading Actress’ with the gleaming synth backdrop has a tenderness weaving through the vocal melodies and soothing instrumental passages, the folksy acoustic lines of ‘Jealous Of The Boys’ that swivel across the bursts of roaring guitars, moving string sections, and hazy keys at just the right moment, the charming country touches of ‘Blood Related’ with the relatively simple guitars and drums - providing enough foundation for the touching vocal melodies to walk on through, the moving string-kissed reflections of ‘The Waitress’ that hits the emotions in the hook really well, the psychedelic experiment of ‘Phases Of The Moon’ where the layers of keys and strings provide the momentum for the melodies to soar high, and the bare strings and acoustic guitar of ‘Standstill’ is enough for the emotional current within the melodies to run smoothly.
Just as always, there is a remarkable flair that goes through the overall songwriting of the record, where it feels like it continues from ‘Expectations’ as there are many pressuring things that Katie Pruitt is dealing with. Focusing a lot on the internal conflicts that a lot of these songs expand upon in detail, where it is perhaps a way for her to expose those frustrations that branch out of her state of mind as those issues could negatively affect herself and the people around her. It is a lot to untangle. The religious subject matter in ‘All My Friends’ and ‘White Lies, White Jesus And You’ discusses how religion can be a balm to others but also become strangling when it is used against Katie Pruitt’s queerness, the romantic clings on ‘Leading Actress’ and ‘The Waitress’ that can become consuming rather than beneficial - with the latter song even acknowledging that Katie has to get out of the way just so the connection made won’t get shattered along the way, the perspective of familial struggles on ‘Blood Related’ where there is a reflection of what Pruitt’s parents had to deal in their past - and how some of that pressure cycles towards Pruitt even if they do try to relate and understand what she has to go through in her life, the trans subtext on ‘Jealous Of The Boys’ where it adds to her desire for that lesbian romance and replacing the “shitty boyfriends” that those women are currently with, and how ‘Naive Again’ is reflecting with growing older as there is a wish to have that youthful naivete - especially when reality has mature people deal with complicated feelings in life as time continues moving forward.
It is within the back half that does provide some breathing room amidst all of those reflections, where starting on ‘Worst Case Scenario’, Pruitt starts to rely on the positive mantras to let herself keep a semblance of strength amidst those negative thoughts. With that path to self-compassion, it does lead to ‘Phases Of The Moon’ and ‘Standstill’ to bookmark the end of the story with some much-needed exhale for her. The former song specifically ruminates about the realization that there will be something to replace the pang of that past romance with a renewed flame to yearn for an essential one, and the latter song essentially embraces the unexpected flow of how everything will shift around her - an embrace that will finally let her shake away any sense of weight on her shoulders. Because sometimes, life doesn’t always need you to keep on moving, because there are times when standing still can be a breather before eventually stepping along for the ride once more.
While a lot of the performances and writing still work wondrously, there is an aspect of the production that does keep it down from being spectacular as a result. As much as that indie rock smolder does work for the most part, it also means that there are guitar and drum textures that just sound washed out or brittle, an issue that becomes consistent within the record. Only letting the melodies sound a bit haphazard, or just some overall sound design that can distract away from the potent flair of the record.
For this sophomore record, what ‘Mantra’ does is a progression within Katie Pruitt’s overall musical wheelhouse, where she just sounds fitting within the shifts in instrumental texture, but also not sacrificing her strengths as a songwriter and as a vocalist. While the production can be the biggest double-edged sword on the album, it does not take away from how the melodies are still as sharp as ever, the performances that still carry so much genuine emotion and charm, and the songwriting that details what is weighing heavy on Katie Pruitt’s mind and the path to become to embrace self-compassion amidst those frustrations that she’s had. To embrace some inner peace amidst a distrustful environment, the presence of these mantras will certainly pave the way for a much better state of mind.
Favorite Tracks: ‘White Lies, White Jesus And You’, ‘Leading Actress’, ‘Jealous Of The Boys’, ‘Blood Related’, ‘The Waitress’, ‘Phases Of The Moon’, ‘Standstill’
Least Favorite Track: ‘All My Friends’