New Music Revue: Kinnie Starr’s new album leaves much to be desired

Kinnie Starr
Feed the Fire
(Aporia Records)
3/5

Feed the Fire, hip-hop/alt-rock artist Kinnie Starr’s eighth album, leaves much to be desired in its artistry.

The title track is a powerful, ambient, anthemic opener that may be the only track I would voluntarily listen to again. “I’m Ready” harnesses arena pop, the theatrical choreography almost audible. “We Are Sky” pairs spoken word with a reverberating ballad and sends the listener off with a grand farewell.

Starr has incorporated more heavy instrumentation and synthetic sounds on this album. It’s well produced and a variety of genres have been blended effectively. Although the technical boxes are ticked, the songs on this album are held back by shallow songwriting and they fall flat, failing to keep the interest of the listener.

The lyrics are bare-bones and, at times, lack creativity. Although some listeners may appreciate the bluntness of Starr’s messages, there’s nothing on this album that makes me want to hear it again.

Correction: We previously said Starr was from Toronto and Vancouver and this is her ninth album; in fact, she’s from neither and this is her eighth album. We also indicated this was a change toward electronic music when in fact she’s been playing electronic music for years. We apologize for the mistakes.