“Kansas Anymore,” a record by Role Model released July 19, 2024, is an indie-folk album with some pop influences. The record differs from his earlier, “Rx” being an indie rap. “Kansas Anymore” tells a story about a person who is in love and is experiencing heartbreak.
“Kansas Anymore” hit number 10 on Billboards Top Alternative Albums chart. The album has earned over 282,000 streams. While the artist has not won any awards for his album, he has submitted himself for the “Best New Artist” category for the upcoming 2026 Grammys.
The record jumps right onto the track “Writings on the Wall” which is about feeling a relationship’s negative outcome but ignoring the feeling, hence the title. The overall tone of the record is missing and yearning for a person you once loved. A specific track that stood out to me was “Francis.” “Francis” is about a girl and everything this person loves about her. “And every letter in her name. Every smile on her face was the silver lining. What’s there really left to say? I’m just thinking of the days we were fine.” This track sounds almost acoustic in the way it was produced. Most of the songs consist of guitar and backing vocals. But the vocals are what I enjoy the most in the song. Role Model sounds raw, and you can hear the emotion in his voice.
The album bounces around to a more upbeat track “Sally When the Wine Runs Out”; One of the more popular songs of the album is about meeting a new girl on a night out, but he cannot seem to figure this girl out. It’s an upbeat song and easy to sing along with. The last track is “The Longest Goodbye.” This song is about finally finding peace in the fact that this person you were in love with was not a good fit for you and you can move on. Until the second part he backtracks and says, “I don’t think I love you anymore, but I don’t think I’ll ever be so sure.”
This record feels like a story is being told in each song; it has the same comfort as though you are a close friend of his, and you are on this journey with him. I recommend this album to everyone. It truly is such an amazing album, especially if you’re looking for something new to listen to.
