Barbara (Trixie Mattel album)

Barbara is the third album by American drag queen, comedian, and singer-songwriter Trixie Mattel. It was released on February 7, 2020, through Producer Entertainment Group and ATO Records, and is Mattel's first studio album released through a record label. The album's title is a reference to the first name of the fashion doll Barbie, from which Mattel takes much of her inspiration.

Barbara
Studio album by
Trixie Mattel
ReleasedFebruary 7, 2020
Genre
Length23:42
Label
Producer
Trixie Mattel chronology
Trixie Mattel: Moving Parts (The Acoustic Soundtrack)
(2019)		 Barbara
(2020)		 Full Coverage, Vol. 1
(2021)
Singles from Barbara
  1. "Malibu"
    Released: January 24, 2020
  2. "Stranger"
    Released: June 12, 2020

Background and promotion

In a September 2018 interview with Billboard, Mattel announced that she was working on her third studio album entitled Barbara and that it would feature an "electro-folk" sound.[1] "Yellow Cloud" was released as the first single from the album on May 17, 2019, though it was later revealed to be a non-album single.

On January 10, 2020, the album's release date was confirmed for February 7, 2020, alongside the album tracklist. She also said the album would be "in the vein of artists like The Beach Boys, The Ventures, and... maybe even a little bit of Blondie."[2] It was also revealed to be a double album, with the first side being focused more on the new surf rock style and the second half focusing more on Mattel's "classic Americana stylings" The album features a cover of Lavender Country's "I Can't Shake the Stranger Out of You" (recorded here as simply "Stranger"), as well as "Jesse Jesse", a love song in tribute of actor Jesse Eisenberg.

Barbara was made available for pre-order, and the lead single, "Malibu" was released, on January 24, 2020.[3][4] Several of Mattel's influences for the finished version of Barbara include The Go-Go's, Blondie, The B-52's, Fountains of Wayne, Weezer, Aimee Mann, and The Click Five.[5]

On January 28, 2020, Mattel premiered a new comedy special, Trixie Mattel: One Night Only on her YouTube channel. In the half hour special she performs the songs "Jesse Jesse", "Gold", and "Malibu" in her living room in front of her vast collection of dolls.[6] The special went on to be nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Comedy Special at the 2022 ceremony.[7]

A new version of "Stranger" featuring Patrick Haggerty from Lavender Country, the original singers of the song, was released as a single on June 12, 2020, as Mattel announced earlier on her platforms.[8]

Composition

Barbara is primarily an electro-folk,[1] power pop,[9] and surf rock[2] album, heavily inspired 1960s pop and dance music.[10] "Malibu" is a Sheryl Crow-esque guitar-pop song, and "We Got the Look" is a new wave and pop rock track about "being glammed up and hitting the streets".[10][11] The album's last half consists of country songs that "clearly show her home-roots haven’t gone away".[11]

Reception

Critical response
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Metro Weekly[12]

Writing for American Songwriter, Jason Scott said that Barbara "pairs the original vision of Trixie with a more mature, more playful, and wittier songwriting sheen", producing "an absolute blowout of beachside boogies, delightfully esoteric songwriting bits, and burning guitar confessions" and a tracklist which is "not only intensely personal but exuberant, fresh, and universal".[13] Hank Adams of Country Queer commented that "Barbara is a thicker album than you might think if you only tune into the dancier tracks. But as it progresses, it moves from light to dusk into the evening, from first blushing love to wherever we end up after we’ve been tossed around by romance a time or two… or three. More thoughtful than she was when we initially met her, Mattel guides us through Barbara's story with a deft touch."[14] Sean Maunier of Metro Weekly wrote that Barbara is "her most quintessentially "Trixie Mattel" album yet", stating that Mattel's songwriting "has lost none of its humor, heart, or depth" despite a change in sound from Two Birds and One Stone. Summing up the record, Maunier concluded that "Trixie Mattel’s great strength as a musician is her ability to marry a deeply irreverent comedic sensibility with a clear respect for the people and places from which she has drawn inspiration".[12]

Accolades
Accolades for Barbara
Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2020 WOWIE Awards Outstanding Album or EP Barbara Nominated [15]
2021 GLAAD Media Awards Outstanding Breakthrough Artist Nominated [16][17]
Queerty Awards Indie Music Video "Malibu" Won [18]

Track listing
Disc 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Malibu"
  • Brian Firkus
  • Nick Goldston
  • Ryan Aceto
  • Goldston
3:02
2."We Got the Look"
  • Aceto
  • Costanza
2:22
3."Girl Next Door"
  • Firkus
  • Goldston
  • Aceto
  • Goldston
2:33
4."Jesse Jesse"Firkus
  • Aceto
  • Goldston
3:22
Disc 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Gold"Firkus
  • Aceto
  • Goldston
3:04
2."I Don't Have a Broken Heart"Firkus
  • Aceto
  • Goldston
2:49
3."I Do Like You"Firkus
  • Aceto
  • Goldston
3:16
4."Stranger" (Lavender Country cover)
  • Aceto
  • Goldston
3:14

Charts
Chart performance for Barbara
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Australian Digital Albums (ARIA)[19] 21
UK Download Albums (OCC)[20] 34
UK Indie Album Breakers (OCC)[21] 16
US Top Current Album Sales (Billboard)[22] 66

References
  1. "Trixie Mattel Talks Upcoming 'Electro-Folk' Album & Shares Erotic Eminem Fantasy". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  2. Daw, Stephen (January 10, 2020). "Trixie Mattel Is Bringing Fans to the Beach With Official 'Barbara' Album Teaser: Watch". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 11, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  3. Mattel, Trixie (January 24, 2020). "My single MALIBU is out today! Preorder the whole album you hookers. #Barbara". Retrieved October 1, 2022 – via Facebook.
  4. Mattel, Trixie (January 24, 2020). "My new single Malibu is out! Preorder BARABARA you junkie whores. 💿". Twitter. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  5. "An AMA About Barbara!".
  6. Mamo, Heran (January 28, 2020). "Trixie Mattel's 'One Night Only' Concert Brings House Full of Barbies Down: Watch". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 31, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  7. Pedersen, Erik (December 6, 2021). "Critics Choice TV Nominations: 'Succession' Leads Field As HBO Edges Netflix". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  8. "Trixie Mattel on Twitter: "New single for Stranger (feat. Lavender Country) comes out Friday! All proceeds are being donated to the Marsha P. Johnson Institute! Gay!"". Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  9. Kirkland, Justin (February 7, 2020). "Trixie Mattel: 'I'm Crossdressing in a Wig. Like, This Is Not a Get-Rich-Quick Scheme.'". Esquire. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  10. Collar, Matt. "Barbara by Trixie Mattel Album Review". AllMusic. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  11. Currinn, Jonathan (February 14, 2020). "Track-By-Track Album Review: Trixie Mattel – Barbara". Celebmix. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  12. Maunier, Sean (February 6, 2020). "Trixie Mattel's Barbara review: Her most quintessentially "Trixie" album". Metro Weekly. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  13. Scott, Jason (February 11, 2020). "Trixie Mattel Carries Torch Of Queerness in Country With Third Album, Barbara". American Songwriter. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  14. Adams, Hank (April 11, 2022). "Album Review: Barbara, Trixie Mattel". Country Queer. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  15. "Tweet by @WorldOfWonder: "🎶 2020 WOWIE Award Nominee 🎶 For Outstanding Album or EP: @trixiemattel - Barbara Cast your #WOWIES votes now"". Retrieved September 17, 2022 – via Twitter.
  16. "The Nominees for the 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards". GLAAD. January 28, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  17. Ramos, Dino-Ray (January 28, 2021). "GLAAD Unveils Nominees For 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards; Deadline's New Hollywood Podcast Honored With Special Recognition Award". Deadline. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  18. "And the winners of the 2021 Queerties are…". Queerty. February 25, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  19. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Digital Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. February 17, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 15, 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  20. "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". www.officialcharts.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2021. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  21. "Official Independent Album Breakers Chart Top 20". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  22. "Trixie Mattel Chart History: Top Current Albums". www.officialcharts.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
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