Role Model is back with "Kansas Anymore," an album that continues from heartache to self-discovery with a serious dose of undeniable groove. The long-awaited follow-up is the sort of album that is a master class in songwriting that fuses jangly guitars and indie-pop smoothness and imagines a world where heartbreak and fresh starts exist in a Venn diagram.
"Kansas Anymore" is a journey of moving on. Straight outta the trap, "Writing's On The Wall" is a set-a-tone infectious acoustic strum and croon, the honest depiction of not seeing bullets slide off the fore of your future. Role Model turns his attention to gratitude for the past, a perspective that finds its way into the strong track "Scumbag." With a self-aware chuckle, he marvels at the loyalty of the people who stick by him despite his faults, whether a lover or his best pals.
The 41-minute, 29-second, 13-song journey has plenty of hues, but thematically, each track is a keeper that leads gracefully to the next one. And "Look At That Woman" is so raw and vulnerable that it demands your ears. At the same time, the entire record feels like a midnight drive on an endless freeway, hair blowing in the wind, memories turned to dust outside your rearview mirror, and an undeniable sense of hope waiting for you up ahead.
"Kansas Anymore" confirms that Role Model is a storyteller and a soundtrack for life's bittersweet moments. Besides whatever heartbreak you're facing, wherever you find yourself in terms of hope or an Ex-Lover who won't leave you alone, this album is here to ride with you into the sunset.