Blue Madonna is the second album from Michigan artist, Garrett Clark Borns, better known by his stage name, Borns. With his androgynous good looks and falsetto vocals, the singer made a name for himself in 2015 with his debut album, Dopamine, and his success is set to continue with the release of his latest album.

The album is kicked off with ‘God Save Our Young Blood’, a melodic song that sets the tone for the album perfectly. In this track Borns is accompanied by guest vocalist, and Borns most common comparison, Lana Del Rey. Their voices melt together throughout the chorus, complimenting each other, making you question why they haven’t collaborated before.

The reasons behind their constant comparisons is clear, particularly in this album. Their shared pop synths, haunting vocals and songs about relationships and heartbreak have led many to dub Borns as the ‘male Lana’.

Comparisons or not, Borns stands out as his own artist throughout this album, particularly in his more upbeat tracks such as ‘Faded Heart’ and ‘Man’. These two tracks are easily two of the strongest on the album. With their fun, vibrant rhythms, infectious chorus’ and catchy lyrics, they are two great songs that stand out in Blue Madonna and could fit in easily on the tracklist of Dopamine.

With a three-year break between albums, Borns has evolved as an artist and has noticeably slowed down his sound with a strong theme throughout the album of love, relationships and heartbreak. Songs such as ‘Bye Bye Darling’ and ‘I Don’t Want You Back’ are great examples of Borns new slower sound.

Other notable tracks, ‘Sweet Dreams’ and ‘Second Night of Summer’ are brilliant in true Borns fashion, with notes of the Dopamine album in them, yet with a hint of something new and refreshing. Borns vocals remain strong, with evidence of the singer pushing his voice even further this time around and broadening his already incredible range.

Nearing the end of the album we are met with ‘Tension’, an interlude lasting two minutes. This was a nice touch to the album and compared to many other interludes, which can be looked over and slightly dull, this was fun, with a funky beat and sounded like a song, not an interlude. I found myself really enjoying ‘Tension’ and wanting it to be a longer, full length song.

The interlude gave way to the excellent ‘Supernatural’, my personal favourite on the album. An upbeat track about falling in love quickly, this track is a Borns classic and could be labelled as the ‘Electric Love’ of Blue Madonna.

Being the title track, ‘Blue Madonna’ could put the song under pressure to be the strongest track and be the epitome of the whole album. It is a good song, which is dripping with Borns identity as an artist, however, I do think that there are better songs on the album.

Overall, this album has many great tracks on it, showcasing Borns incredible range and talent. Although noticeably different to Dopamine, Blue Madonna is telling a story that could be a sequel to Borns first album. With some moments of brilliance and many stand out tracks, this is a strong album that should see Borns accomplishing many great things.

Lindsay Duncan
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