It isn’t an uncommon road travelled for actors to further express their creativity through the release of music. Whilst some commit to both with a certain vigour (Jennifer Lopez, Cher, etc) and others dabble with more consistent subtlety (Keanu Reeves, Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe), it does feel a little out of the ordinary to switch to the medium so late into an already established career.
That’s how it may appear on the surface when looking at Kate Hudson and her foray into music with the release of Glorious. But, if you’ve paid close enough attention, you’ll know that Hudson has always had an instrumental expression running through her blood, she just hasn’t had the ability to let it out.
Until now.
At the age of 21 when she was thrust particularly into acting stardom off the back of her Academy Award-nominated performance as Penny Lane in Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous (2000), Hudson – whose father Bill Hudson was a vocalist in the familial troop The Hudson Brothers – rode the wave of attention towards a fruitful career that saw her top such studio successes as How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days, The Skeleton Key, Fool’s Gold and, most recently, the Knives Out sequel, Glass Onion.
Hudson has stated that music is something she’s always wanted to pursue, but acting, for whatever reason, took precedence. She fuelled her own musicianship through a recurring role on the TV series Glee and as one of Daniel Day Lewis’s muses in the musical Nine, and, however ill-advised the film ultimately ended up being, she flexed further in the Sia-penned Music.
Those musical outlets were specific to those projects however. Glorious is authentically Kate Hudson, with the creative leaning into a poetic songwriter mentality that comes across as a folk-inspired Adele or a pop-fused Joni Mitchell.
The album’s launch single, “Talk About Love”, is indeed the most commercial sounding of the 12 tracks on hand. It may not necessarily be a sonic representation of Glorious as a whole, but with its booming chorus and plucky riff it makes sense as to why it would suit as an introduction to Hudson as an artist. The album flits between a predominant soft-rock and country aesthetic (the romantic “Live Forever” and the boot scootin’-lite “Romeo” proving strong examples), but her pop hook sensibilities are never discarded in favour of lyrical depth, with “Lying To Myself”, with its 80s inspired bassline, serving as a spiritual sibling to the aforementioned debut single.
The slight husk in Hudson’s voice at once suits the rock edge the album oft leans into, whilst also serving the vulnerability required for the softer, more open moments that speak to her strength as a storyteller. The album opener “Gonna Find Out“, a breathy rock number that expresses a more sexually liberated Hudson (“It’s a hot night, it’s a low light. It’s a full moon, I’ll take you on a fun ride, I’m gonna stay down‘Cause you’re my goal line”) and the following “Fire”, which enjoys a new wave-lite instrumental that brings to mind Icehouse’s seminal “Great Southern Land”, ensure the listener’s attention before the softer touch of “The Nineties” allows a moment of reflection.
Given the stigma that can so often come from an actor trying their hand at music, it’s a testament to Hudson’s commitment that she packaged Glorious and set it out for all the world to listen. And whilst her bubbly, inviting persona may suggest a fluffier approach to pop music at its most basic, the emotionality and maturity of both her vocal tone and the production is sure to silence any naysayers that assume this venture is void of credibility.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Glorious is now available through Virgin Music Group.
