Review: Say hello to "Kansas Anymore" summer

Buckle up for the most honest form of heartbreak and heartache as Role Model proves to be the next up-and-coming pop star with his sophomore album, Kansas Anymore. 

If there’s one good thing I’ve learned that comes out of a public break-up, it is a no-skip album. Role Model’s “Kansas Anymore,” released July 19, is his most lyrically and sonically cohesive album yet. Role Model’s ability for storytelling is exemplary as he traces feelings of love, loss, homesickness, and gratitude. So much so, that it inspired me to dust off my pen and write this review. 

Those of us who are chronically online may know that Role Model’s muse for this album is Gen Z’s most influential YouTuber now turned A-list celebrity, Emma Chamberlain. And if you already didn’t, he literally has tracks titled “Oh, Gemini” and “Frances.” Do with that what you will. 

Role Model makes it a point throughout the album that despite the break-up, he holds nothing but love and respect for his now-ex, which leaves us guessing that perhaps he was the problem. Regardless, the way Role Model speaks highly of Chamberlain in tracks like “Compromise” and “Something, Somehow, Someday” leaves me wanting to break no contact with Role Model myself. 

Role Model effortlessly takes us through the beautiful yet painful stages of maturing and grieving someone who changed you for the better. In the track “Slipfast,” Role Model paces back and forth between who he was before falling in love and how he would have dealt with a relationship on the verge of a fallout. However, he breaks and gets real with us in the track, “Slut Era Interlude.” Role Model means every word he sings as he describes a rebound who is only there to help him through a heartbreak. Despite this track being so painfully honest, it’s lyrically one of the best on the album. 

As Role Model ironically explores loneliness through upbeat folky-pop tunes, it’s also clear that he is beginning a new journey with a different outlook and even more self-awareness. This new ‘hot girl healing era,’ also brings new growth for Role Model as a singer and songwriter. These instrumental and vocal hints of Fleetwood Mac meets Kacey Musgraves meets Twin Peaks demonstrate his artistic development from previous works. 

Even with these new sound explorations and themes for Role Model, he seamlessly throws in tracks that still very much feel like the old Role Model with tracks like “Scumbag” and “Superglue” that rely heavily on a cheesy effect. Nonetheless, these tracks don't feel like they take away from the plot, instead, they keep it lighthearted and fun as Role Model navigates new feelings of loss and also acceptance.

While I wasn’t a big fan of Role Model, previously, I can easily say that “Kansas Anymore” has changed my perspective on who Role Model is as an artist and person. With this album on repeat, I have effortlessly transitioned from a “Brat” summer to a “Kansas Anymore” summer, as Role Model would've wanted.