Toto, we have more tracks... ROLE MODEL's 'Kansas Anymore' extended
- blondevibrations
- Mar 9
- 4 min read
We are truly no stranger to ROLE MODEL's sophomore album, 'Kansas Anymore'. This album has been sound-tracking our every day at BVHQ, and has had various features on this blog (see our ROLE MODEL concert review here, and our 'Kansas Anymore' review here!) And, perfectly timed with Valentine's Day, Tucker Pillsbury released an additional four songs to the album, bringing the sonic journey down the yellow brick road to a fairytale ending, closing the storybook of 'Kansas Anymore'.
Starting strong with 'Old Recliners', the track starts with a rhythmic, ticking drum beat; you can feel the album being reloaded as if on a juke box. Like clockwork, Pillsbury reloads these retrospective thoughts of a past relationship: 'I remember when the days were long / Old recliners in the yard', taking that classical old Western tone that we know and love from the original 'Kansas Anymore' track-list. The repeated nostalgia of long days and questioning 'I wonder where the days have gone' shares similar tones to that of 'Frances' -- an original track from the album with the chorus 'The dog days, the rides home / The tall cans, the long nights'. Days seemed to be unlimited and elongated during this past relationship, yet with the consistent contemplation, it feels like a sense of déjà vu as Pillsbury continues to grapple with the recovery of a broken down relationship.
The outro of 'Old Recliners' ringing out '(Always think about you) / In the moment' leading straight into the opening lines of 'Sally, When The Wine Runs Out': 'Well I met Sally at a late-night dive bar / She don't dance, but she downs her drinks', leaves space for much irony. With the introduction of a new character in the 'Kansas Anymore' cinematic universe, we take a jump in time to the partying, rebounding stage of a breakup. The infectious chorus of 'Sally / That feeling's coming around / Please don't go falling in love / Then disappear when the wine runs out' is a honest reflection of thinking you're having light-hearted fun with a new suitor but then feeling insecure in what is actually happening between the pair. A moment to praise the incredible use of the track's bridge: 'Heard through the grapevine, she can be a diva / Cold like Minnesota, / Hotter than a fever / Aw, shit, here we go again, / I'm falling headfirst / Ankles hit the two-step, / Sally makes my head hurt.' The greatness of the line 'here we go again' in a teaser for a deluxe edition of an album deserves to be studied in marketing degrees across the country... Only for this snippet to go viral on TikTok. ROLE MODEL has a great, magical power in conjuring songs that listeners hooked on both their sound and storytelling.
With the hype built up for 'Sally, When The Wine Runs Out' and the first listen the morning of Valentine's Day, nothing could have prepared us for 'Some Protector'. Again, this track follows suit with the prior deluxe tracks, marking 'It's closing time, and I'm leaving / You're holding on to someone new' -- the thread connecting this quartet of tracks is truly the sense of a chapter slowly, yet still painfully, coming to an end. The song feels like a conversation between two versions of Pillsbury, especially in the final chorus with one part questioning 'Am I guilty? Am I sorry? / Do I miss you at the party?', while the other responds with 'Yes I am, and I always will'. It feels as though the questioning part is asking the future self if the emotions will ever end, while the present-day ROLE MODEL has come to peace with the reality that one may always feel guilty and lost without this lost love one. The climax of the bridge asking 'Am I lying to my mother / That someday I'll find another?' almost feels cyclical to the album's opening line (from 'Writing's On The Wall') stating 'Dad's on the phone and he's lecturing me / 'Bout a girl that he met back when he was nineteen / It's never gonna work 'cause the puzzles won't piece.' This consistent reference to parents and generations implies a sense of fate and familial cycles. These deluxe tracks emphasis the length of the grieving process of a relationship, further building on the foundations placed by the initial tracks.
The extended album ends with 'The Longest Goodbye', the track used for the deluxe's title. While at the face of a small internet joke, likening the track to the Toy Story soundtrack (yes, we are citing Saint Laurent Cowboy...) However, this Randy Newman inspired song encapsulates all things 'Kansas Anymore' with its country roots and painfully honest lyrics. The first verse sweeping 'From a friend to a stranger, a simple rearranger / Should I even open that door?' indicates that this song will be taking a far-away approach to the relationship subject matter, following the structure from 'I don't think you love me anymore' to 'I don't think I love you anymore', shows the journey undertaken by Pillsbury in the creation of this album. The final narrative of this story being 'I see the new man you're holding, the bar is finally closing / I don't know what I'm buggin' ya for / Between the silence and the mileage, the feelings you were hiding / I don't think you love me anymore / And I don't think I love you anymore,' left every listener with tears in their eyes. This final track of the story gives full closure, both parties are no longer in love, they have moved on and are officially in new -- and different -- stages of their lives. And just like that, the story is over.
By adding these four additional tracks, ROLE MODEL shows exactly how a deluxe album should be approached - with the trend of updating albums with new songs being popular once more. Pillsbury manages to both expand the creative landscape that he had initially built the foundations of, while closing the storybook of this previous relationship, and puts it back on the bookshelf. While the story may be concluded, it's safe to say that this album will remain on our repeats for a long, long time...
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