“Can I talk my shit?”
Four years after her last release, that’s the no-nonsense, universally relatable question Laetitia Tamko, known better as Vagabon, opens Sorry I Haven’t Called with. Released last Friday (September 15) via Nonesuch Records, Vagabon’s third album offers a rich, danceable sound (a result of being partially produced by Rostam Batmanglij) as a backdrop for her explorations of human connection and interaction.
“This whole record is how I talk to my friends and how to talk to my lovers,” Tamko says of the writing process. “I think honesty and conversational songwriting can become poetry. There’s beauty in plainly speaking without metaphors and without flowery imagery.”
Approachable lyricism, like that of the aforementioned opening line, is one of the many strengths of Sorry I Haven’t Called. Removing that veneer of allegory, Tamko allows her work to be deeply resonant by being honest and real — album highlight “Autobahn” serves as an emotional core of the work while stepping a bit away from the techno and dance influences of the rest of the album.
Even on the more upbeat tracks, Tamko still takes time to get personal. On the infectious “Carpenter,” she laments the woes of attachment, singing of “cautionary tales” and finally feeling comfortable with vulnerability over a fun repeated percussion line and floating synths.
Whether the listener chooses to put on Sorry I Haven’t Called as the soundtrack for a Friday night pregame or to sit in difficult feelings, either works. And it works well, with the energy of the instrumentation never detracting from Vagabon’s messaging or deeply personal influences. It dances along the line of positivity and pain with ease.
Catch Vagabon at Somerville’s Crystal Ballroom on October 26 in support of the album. In the meantime, get your daily catharsis in by streaming Sorry I Haven’t Called.