Suki Waterhouse webs together a shimmering second album in ‘Memoir of a Sparklemuffin’

Words by Julia Norton

Photo Credit: Jeremy Soma 

        Women are carrying the pop music industry with some incredible album releases this year, and Suki Waterhouse has just stepped into the spotlight with her newest release this month. Suki has been building up to the release of her sophomore album ‘Memoir of a Sparklemuffin’ for most of 2024, slowly dropping singles that would make up the tracklist prior to the official album announcement.  Now that ‘Sparklemuffin’ has been shared with the world, it is clear that the year of fantastic music releases is still on the rise.

        Unless you happen to be an arachnid aficionado, it probably would take a quick Google search to learn the reasoning behind the album title. As it turns out, the Sparklemuffin is a colorful species of peacock spider in Australia, a fluffy dancing creature that Suki Waterhouse stumbled upon via the Internet and instantly became fixated on. Suki pays homage to the little guy with spider-like imagery on the album art, a lovely detail that hints at the amount of creativity she put into this project.

        Suki Waterhouse is known in the public eye for many roles, but the artist does not want to contain herself to a singular label to define her talents. Before making music, Suki started as a model and later on pursued acting, and last year she starred in the TV adaptation of Daisy Jones and the Six as keyboardist Karen Sirko combining two of her many artistic passions. Most recently, Suki took on the new role as a mother to her first child, and she spent most of her pregnancy creating and recording ‘Sparklemuffin’ just before her daughter was born. There is a fallacy in the entertainment industry that when women decide to try new forms of performance art, that they will fall flat stepping beyond what they are known for. Suki Waterhouse proved this criticism wrong by being very successful in her music releases, most notably in 2022 with songs “Good Looking” and “Moves” which helped her reach indie pop stardom. In her new album, Suki addresses the feeling of being labeled for singular identities by the media, and ultimately reclaims them in the ballad “Model, Actress, Whatever”. With the highs of success come the troubles of being a public figure as described in the second verse of the song:

“You can’t write the ending, it’s Hollywood pages

You tell them your story and they’ll make the changes”

        While Suki Waterhouse is known for creating mesmerizing ballads, ‘Sparklemuffin’ shows the artist broadening her horizons and producing a sonically diverse record. I have had singles “Supersad” and “Blackout Drunk” on repeat since they dropped earlier this summer, both upbeat pop songs with choruses that get stuck in your head after the first listen. “Supersad” contains an uplifting message within the lyrics of not letting yourself dwell on negative experiences and to pick yourself back up when life gets tough. Meanwhile, “Blackout Drunk” tells the story of a doomed relationship due to the narrator’s partner being disloyal when drinking. You can almost hear Suki smile behind the rage she brings out in this track, as she looks forward to calling the guy out as soon as he sobers up:

“Sweet dreams can’t sleep it off

Wait til I wake you up

Cause I can hardly wait to tell you all the shitty things that you’ve done

When you’re b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b blackout drunk”

        Do not worry if you are a fan of Suki Waterhouse’s slower songs,  ‘Sparklemuffin’ has some beautiful ballads that embody the sound of some other significant contributors to female pop/rock.  “To Get You” is a dreamy song of devotion that gets better with each listen, and the first single released from the album back in 2023 “To Love” is the perfect ending to the eighteen-track record. Another standout from the album is “Nonchalant”, the perfect blend of Suki’s signature sound (reminiscent of her debut album ‘I Can’t Let Go’) and some soft indie rock orchestrations that add a kick during the second chorus. Suki is able to stay relatable in her lyricism despite her status, and admits to her complicated emotions in one last track from the album I cannot finish this review without mentioning. “Big Love” is not to be missed on ‘Sparklemuffin’, the upbeat track that builds up from the starting riff to the repetitive bridge at the end of the track. The lyrics from the first verse have a great hook that instantly makes you listen to what Suki is conveying in “Big Love”:

“Sometimes when I take a deep breath / It brings up all my sadness

But you wouldn't see it / How close I keep it

Hands under the table / Counting on my fingertips

Who's left / And who's gonna leave me next”

        Suki Waterhouse is an artist you want to add to your current rotation, and I guarantee there is a song for any kind of music listener to appreciate on ‘Memoir of a Sparklemuffin’. If committing to an eighteen-track album for a new artist seems daunting, start with singles “My Fun” or “OMG”, and you will certainly be going back for more. ‘Memoir of a Sparklemuffin’ and other Suki Waterhouse albums, EPs, and singles can be found on all streaming platforms.