Album Review: ‘Greyhound’ by Katie Tupper

Saskatchewan-born artist, Katie Tupper’s melancholic debut album, Greyhound, released January 21. The album centres around love in all of its forms, along with the “theme of cycle and chase,” Tupper says in an interview with Killbeat Music. Greyhound struggles to establish itself for the majority of the album, but holds potential by the end. 

The first track of the album, “Disappear” is simple, but sets the tone well. Tupper’s smooth voice is accompanied well by a soft piano while layered harmonies add complexity without subtracting from Tupper’s performance. In “Disappear,” Tupper is the one being pursued, drawing away like the decoy a greyhound chases. This is one of the strongest songs, holding up to repeated listens without becoming boring. 

The first pre-release single, “Tennessee Heat” follows with a similar sound that quickly becomes repetitive. However, the track does expand on the greyhound metaphor through references to Tupper as the dog instead. This establishes a cycle of pursuit. This is one of the weaker tracks, and my least favourite on the album. The lyrics are simplistic and quickly grow repetitive, causing the song to drag on. 

“Whitney” injects much needed energy into the album, forgoing the piano for a synthesized beat. Tupper expresses her desire to be pursued, and the slow down in the second half of the song adds to the feeling of longing. But while “Whitney” encounters many of the same issues as “Tennessee Heat,” the instrumentals compensate where the lyrics struggle to remain interesting.

Nearing the halfway point of the album, “Sick To My Stomach” brings a brighter sound. A sharp accompanying guitar and vocal effects placed on Tupper’s voice do the trick. However, both “Safe Ground” and “Sick To My Stomach” quickly become repetitive musically and lyrically. And this is a problem that persists throughout Tupper’s album. 

“Right Hand Man” has quick percussion and distorted guitar present throughout the song that creates an energetic sound vastly different from the beginning of the album. The lyrics allude to the cycle of chasing and being chased in a relationship, though the lyrics of the chorus quickly feel bland against the energy of the song. I enjoyed the background instrumentals of this track, but I wish it was shorter, with a more interesting chorus. 

“Obviously Desperate” is catchy and brings back the piano from the first half of the album. This is the longest track of the album, which works against it. It would benefit from being shorter, as it starts off strong but quickly feels drawn out.  

“Jeans (fall on my knees),” “Round and Round,” and the final track on the album “Cowboy Lullaby” allow for Tupper’s voice to shine against the backing tracks. These are the three strongest tracks on the album, lyrically, musically and thematically. Importantly, these tracks escape the monotony and repetitiveness that plagues much of the album. “Jeans (fall on my knees)” and “Round and Round” employ a much simpler sound, while “Cowboy Lullaby” uses a variety of instrumentals to create a new, interesting sound. I wish the previous tracks had been similar to these three, as they are genuinely enjoyable.

Overall, Greyhound isn’t a great album. Tupper’s lyrics tend to be bland and repetitive, wasting large amounts of the runtime. On repeated listens, many of the songs seemed to blend together, adding to the lackluster nature of the album. Despite the issues prevalent with the album, Tupper’s vocal performance was consistently strong, often compensating for the weaker aspects of a track. The lyrical improvement in the second half of the album showcased Tupper’s potential as an artist, and the heights she may reach if she continues in this direction.