Role Model and the Bittersweet Catharsis of 'Kansas Anymore'
Photo: Daniel Prakopcyk
“Well, I tried my best tonight, don't know what for / I click my heels three times, oh, we're not in Kansas anymore”
Role Model’s highly-anticipated sophomore album Kansas Anymore is here, and somehow I am dancing in my room, feeling heartbroken, and finding myself with a deep hankering for a pint of beer in a saloon in the middle of nowhere all at once. Grab a cowboy hat, put on your finest pair of dancing boots, and sit around the campfire as Role Model strums his guitar and sings a tale of love and loss.
While it can feel natural to label Kansas Anymore as the “break-up album," it is not so much of a break-up album as it is a new beginnings album. The journey commences with “Writing’s On The Wall,” where Role Model sets the tone for what is to come: upbeat acoustic guitars, stacked vocal harmonies, a slight twang, and a whole lot of hope as Role Model sings, “Writing’s on the wall I pretend I can’t read.” From getting lectured on relationships by his dad to telling the waitress at the diner his whole life story, Role Model tries his best to come to terms with reality; only, unlike most breakups, he finds himself thankful the relationship ever happened to begin with. We see this theme of gratitude throughout the album, most notably in the self-aware standout track “Scumbag,” where Role Model finds himself in disbelief that his lover—and as the music video reveals, his best friends—stand by him despite his faults and setbacks.
While much of the melodies are, for the lack of a better word, happy-sounding, and Role Model’s vocal delivery is often sung with a smile painted across his face, don’t let Kansas Anymore fool you. There are deep cuts sprinkled between the earworms that will make you spiral and question how something so seemingly good could ever come to an end. “Frances,” which happens to be the middle name of Role Model’s ex, looks back on the relationship for what it was, while admiring ‘Frances’ with his whole heart, singing “I’m just happy I can say she was mine.”
The respect Role Model has for his ex seriously needs to be investigated by modern science, because I do not think I have ever witnessed such a lovely and cathartic album about a relationship coming to an end. Perhaps this respect is most evident in “Deeply Still In Love,” an open, honest, and optimistic confession to his ex, or in “Compromise,” where Role Model urges his ex to never compromise because all he wants is for her to be happy.
Kansas Anymore is sonically and visually cohesive, arriving perhaps as Role Model’s most fully realized piece of work yet, leaning heavily into its folk-pop sound and Western aesthetic in both its production and storytelling. Role Model is having fun and letting loose with his writing, and it feels refreshing to hear. Each of its music videos feels like a vignette, a glimpse into Role Model’s technicolor world that is Kansas Anymore. From the fast-paced bluegrass storytelling of “The Dinner” to the raw, authenticity of “Slut Era Interlude,” Kansas Anymore is a true testament to Role Model’s development as a singer and songwriter. While the album is very clearly inspired by someone else, it is ultimately about Role Model and his growth as a person. In his sophomore effort, he pens a love letter to himself, and, in turn, demonstrates his ability to create a beautiful, uplifting piece of art from a place of melancholy.
The most accurate way I can sonically describe Kansas Anymore is a YouTube comment that reads “why am i crying while shaking ass.” Also, if I were Role Model’s ex, Kansas Anymore would leave me with no choice but to fold.
Listen to Kansas Anymore below:
