Two albums on, and Kiwi songstress Kimbra is probably still best known as the 'girl that Gotye used to know' outside of Australia and New Zealand. Music critics have lauded the ease in which Kimbra blends and bends various genres in a nearly schizophrenic fashion, as her jazz-influenced vocals flit from a capella, to layered harmonies, beat-boxing and vocal percussion to match the sensibilities of the genre she happens to be channeling: pop, disco, Latin, 90's R&B, Motown, futuristic art rock. As AllMusic's Jon O'Brien notes, her "chameleon-like tendencies ensure that predictability is certainly never an issue on any one of [Vows'] 12 genre-hopping tracks".
All this genre-hopping has eclipsed the lyrical content of Kimbra's ouevre, which is also a little hard to pin down. "Cameo Lover" does share a common ground with "Settle Down", however, in its non-overt interrogation of gender norms. While the song, with its girl group-esque pop chorus, departs from the latter's piano hooks and rhythmic R&B grooves, it can be seen as a near-perfect counterpoint. If "Settle Down" evokes (without explicitly articulating) anxiety and uncertainty about female gender roles in marriage, "Cameo Lover' is a carnivalesque promise that a romantic relationship will serve as an antidote for emotional repression and isolation (this is visually represented by the blindfolded men's black suits turning into brightly colored ones by the end of the music video):
'You stay inside that bubbleWith all of your troubleIn your black holeYou turn from the skiesYou dance with your demiseI'll be here when you come home (Home)We've all gotta break downLet me come and break down, there with you
Cause everyday's like talking in your sleepLove is like a silhouette in dreams!So open up your heart, open up your heartOpen up your heart and let me pull you out of here
Lyrics: Genius
Such messages hardly seem like envelope-pushing interrogations of gender in this day and age, but female aspirations for marriage/maternity and male stoicism are arguably some of the most ingrained aspects of the gender binary. Kimbra's subtle approach to these perennial questions may not provoke a flurry of debate, but they just might prove to be subconsciously thought provoking after repeated listens ...
