Audrey Hobert’s first studio album “Who’s the Clown?” is an experience meant to be perceived as a whole. While each of these tracks can be received as a standalone song, as a whole, Hobert tells a story.
From the release of the album’s first single, “Sue me,” Hobert received mixed reviews. The unconventional “talky” kind of singing that Hobert uses conveys the angsty themes that her lyrics follow. Hobert begins the song singing “I knew you’d be at the party / Drinking a Coke and Bacardi / Not that it matters, but I’m breaking patterns / And getting so good at Pilates,” conveying that while her ex has stuck to his same immature habits, she has been working to better herself.
Although responses were varied, this track carried Hobert into the mainstream before the release of her second single “Bowling alley.” Hobert sings “So I walk in hot / Oh, great, nobody noticed / ‘Til I hit that strike, then everybody noticed me, uh-huh / (Everybody loves a winner) / Who’s gonna tell ’em I’m a lucky beginner?” as she alludes to the success of her first single.
As she stepped into the music scene, no one noticed until she received rave reviews of her first single and it seemed as though everyone loved her although she merely felt like a “lucky beginner.”
While the first two singles offered something new to the music scene, the third single, “Wet hair,” fell short for me as the sound was reminiscent of other pop songs currently taking over the charts. However, it still added to the overall message that she conveyed through her first two singles. “Sad old me showed up with wet hair / Like it didn’t matter and I didn’t care,” Hobert sings in the chorus. This adds to her idea of having imposter syndrome in the music industry, feeling out of place and even worrying that she is perceived as not caring.
Released Aug. 15, the album includes new tracks “Thirst trap,” “Chateau,” “Shooting star,” and “Silver Jubilee.”
As I sat down to listen to the album, track one, titled “I like to touch people,” almost deterred me from the project as a whole. Hobert begins singing in her same “talky” voice of her fantasy in which she is asked what she likes to do and she responds, “I like to touch people.” Although it is understood that this is a lighthearted song about a desire for physical intimacy, it is weird, while still setting the tone for the rest of the album.
In “Thirst Trap” Hobert shares the importance that she has placed on her physical appearance and how she believes that it has made her less “cool.” In the chorus Hobert sings “I’m takin’ thirst traps in the mirror in my room / I think I look bad so I change the lightin’ / I used to kick back, watchin’ movies and the news / But now I’m lame, it’s such a shame, I used to be so super cool.”
Hobert reminisces over when she used to place less value upon her outer appearance and how she was cooler before she cared about it. “But now I listen to my playlists and pretend I’m you (Pretend I’m you) / Look at what I posted and pretend I’m you (Pretend I’m you), uh / I’m sick and twisted and borin’ (Uh-uh),” Hobert continues.
She paints a picture of a typical teenage girl fantasizing over her own photos as if the boy she liked was viewing them. She continues to convey her idea that her new found obsession with herself and a man makes her boring, even going as far as saying she feels “sick and twisted.”
At the release of this album, “Thirst trap” was the track that stood out the most to me, but after returning time and time again to this project, I have become obsessed with “Chateau” and “Shooting star.” In Chateau, Hobert creates an image of being invited to a prestigious event (being the Chateau) and how she desires to get out, stating that even being in high school would be better than being stuck in this place.
This continues upon the main idea of the album: feeling like an outcast or fake in the music scene. The second most present theme in the album, desiring to be perceived as beautiful, continues into “Shooting star” and most of all in “Phoebe.”
In this track, Hobert compares herself to the character Phoebe Buffet from “Friends.” “And who cares if I’m pretty? / I feel like I’m Phoebe” Hobert sings. She highlights the fact that Phoebe Buffet was often considered an eccentric and weird person, but Hobert doesn’t care that she is perceived as non-attractive because she sees herself in this beloved character.
This track is different from the others in the album as she is no longer reminiscing over her past self, but coming to accept and love the person she has become.
The final track of the album, “Silver Jubilee,” is a celebration and a release of the tensions and stressors that Hobert referenced throughout the album. “I’ma put my drink up, it’s drinks up now / I’ma tell my sister she’s perfect / Yeah, I’ma live it up like my life starts now / Blink and you could miss it, it’s over, it’s all night” Hobert sings.
She acknowledges the rapid nature of life and creates the perfect conclusion to her first album. Overall, Audrey Hobert acknowledges all of the ways in which she does not feel like she fits in, whether it be in professional settings or with beauty standards. In the end, she finds the beauty within this and lets go of her grasp on the perception that others have of her.
“Who’s the Clown?” as a whole is a therapeutic release of happiness, anger, sadness, and a plethora of other emotions for Hobert as well as all those lucky enough to listen to it.
