Words by Kate Lockyer
This May 17, Kate Hudson has made the leap from silver screen to sensational songstress with the release of her debut album ‘Glorious’. You know her from How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Almost Famous and Bride Wars, but now we are discovering there is more to her creative potential than her Golden Globe winning, Oscar nominated acting performances.
“I’d say it doesn’t seem real,” Hudson says. “But the truth is: this is realer to me than anything I’ve done in my entire life. It was always this, I just needed to get to a place where I was ready… and the songs got to the core of who I am.”
The album starts with Gonna Find Out, a sultry track where we are introduced to Hudson’s breathy yet full-bodied vocals backed up by coarse, bright-toned electric guitar. The perfect opener, it is almost as if she is inviting us into the album – “If you want to get it / I may let you in this time / You got me in the mood”. She has harnessed the sensual confidence that made her so irresistible in her films.
Fire changes the mood, this track more country-inspired, and Hudson’s rugged intonation that bursts into the first line “Oh, there’s gonna be a fire” has echoes of Shania Twain. This one is about purging a love that has “got a little tired”, in true defiant Twain style.
In The Nineties, we get to a more reflective place, and vibey reverb on the electric seems to reflect and amplify the thought trail of Hudson as she sings about facing criticism and running your own race, and one imagines she draws from years of living in the public eye, getting her first big break at just 19. It has a very pretty melody line as she sings, “So run, run, just as fast as you can / Don’t look back, cause they won’t understand”.
Hudson has shared in an interview that Live Forever was written about the experience of having children young. Gentle acoustic guitar trickles over her sentimental lyrics – “I was just a little girl / Dove deep into the world / Thought I could take it all / And you showed up right by my side / My witness and my life / Now we’ve grown up in stride.” It’s touching and makes you want to call your mum.
Talk About Love switches track again, this time towards pop with some bluesy moments thrown into the mix with little chromatic vocal runs throughout. This one feels a little formulaic, but it’s a fun song with an appealing setting – the city at night as you’re falling in love.
Wistful strains of electric guitar ring out at the beginning of Love Ain’t Easy as Hudson slips back into a country blues sound, and you can tell the song comes from a real place, the gritty reality of fighting for a relationship. The bridge might be my favourite part of the whole album, ramping up with soulful promises which she belts out above not just guitar and percussion but added brass and a choral part below.
Finishing on a fun note, Romeo is a flirty modern take on a star-crossed romance. Tossing in small details about this man who has “got those eyes that make it too hard to look away”, the song is a montage of moments that make a whole relationship. You can’t help but smile at the sweetness of it.
Never Made A Moment is a touching ballad about how important your family and friends can be in your life. She seems to refer to her beginnings in Hollywood – “I came in from the East / 20s and big city life” – and in the chorus pays tribute to the way her family has also shaped her life – “I never made a moment without you / Will I find my own way without you”.
The pace picks up for Lying to Myself, a song about needing space to know if something is right. Punchy synth and guitars keep this simple track knocking along. Then, Hudson brings out another country-style ballad, Not Easy To Know, where her vocals really shine, and you hear her sing about her vulnerabilities.
The album’s eponymous track Glorious feels almost spiritual with her choice of song title, and the gentle strings and piano reinforce this feeling. Singing to someone she loved who now is gone, Hudson pours her whole heart into the song. Touch The Light brings the same vulnerable spirit to the question of what is worth chasing in life but builds to a rockier ending with a passionate guitar solo as a chorus sings, “So can you touch the light?”.
Independently recorded and realised, Hudson worked with Danny Fujikawa, Johan Carlsson and Linda Perry to create a sound that manages to be both fresh and somehow familiar. “I wanted something that was sexy and delicious, vulnerable and strong, willing and fearless – and especially gloriously in love with the way life takes you on this journey if you’ll just show up and be open. I wanted songs that could reach across all that, and that is a lot to cover,” she said.
Hudson’s first official foray into music brings along the pathos that made her acting so enthralling, on an album that straddles pop, blues and country in a way that elevates her husky vocals and bold lyrics.
Photo Credit: Guy Aroch
Thanks to Virgin Music Group
