Review by: Mr. Substitute
“Debutant” has been a word that I’ve been enjoying lately because in just a small word you have this world of possibilities ranging from an utter miss or a smashing hit. Caitlin Edwards–singer of the Chicago Ska-punk band Bumsy and the Moochers–has taken on this challenging role of debutant by putting out her first solo album entitled Planet Pluto, a portfolio of self-portraits that are artistically put forward in varying genres that unmistakably tell the world exactly who Caitlin Edwards really is.
Musically, Pluto Party has a punk-rock core with tracks like “Spazz” and “Kiwi Lounge” great examples of bouncing around to catchy riffs and a driving bass. Edwards does a great job is varying the music styles, providing the occasional slower track in “All The Fun” and “Lip,” the latter being a tender acoustic track surrounded by pristine backing vocals to a very memorable chorus in “Love is pain, love is pain, love is pain,” (later changed to “Love is brave”).
As stated earlier, Pluto Party is a spectacular collection of these songs that are the artistic equivalent of surgically splitting yourself open to expose ten different parts of you in great pain and detail. The closing track, “Always Saturday” gave such raw emotion that you end the album almost feeling like you’ve just made a new friend in Edwards.
Debuting anything is daunting, debuting something as personal as a solo project adds to the pressure because of how vulnerable it can leave an artist feeling. As a debut album for Caitlin Edwards, Pluto Party is touching, reflective and should have listeners excited about any future projects to come. You can find her Bancamp page here as well as her Instagram page.
Music Shelf With Mustard 