We live in a time of time-warped generations: Teens grow up too quickly and twenty-somethings work to turn back the clock. Maude Latour, a 25-year-old musician from New York, falls into this second category. More than a year after the release of her debut album “Sugar Water” (2024), Latour returned on Sept. 26 with “Sugar Water (Deluxe).” With three new tracks and two singles released within the past year, Latour’s expanded record is more complex, emotional and danceable than the original. Whether it destructively rekindles a toxic relationship or infectiously yearns for the freedom of adolescence, “Sugar Water (Deluxe)” shimmers, cementing Latour as an off-kilter pop powerhouse.
“TickTickBoom” is the record’s first new addition. Released on Sept. 12, the track delves into a relationship on the rocks — a love that is both dysfunctional and undeniably addicting. Latour’s lover suffocates her, even when they are absent. “If I gave you my twenties, will I regret / Never kissing a stranger I haven’t met?” Latour sings. The feeling of missing out on the seminal experiences, such as the racy exploits of a city girl in her early twenties, echoes throughout the deluxe tracks. Latour seeks the kind of sexual freedom usually reserved for bright-eyed college students, even though she graduated in 2022.
The track fits right in with “Sugar Water,” complementing and improving upon songs like the electrifying “Cursed Romantics” and the fizzy “Summer of Love.” With witty lyrics, Latour’s expanded vocal range and a catchy sleepy pop beat, “TickTickBoom” sets the stage for the album’s other deluxe tracks and lays out the record’s thesis: Latour will be as wild as she wants to be.
On the next track, “Sailor 99,” Latour exudes that same sense of freedom not through her lyrics but through the song’s production. Beginning with an echoey ’90s beat, the track takes shape around Latour’s hypnotic vocals. She pitches her voice down as she sings about the aura of dangerous mystery surrounding her partner: “When I dream about you, you’re metallic / Twilight, crystal, romantic.” During the song’s initial verses, synths bend and blur, pitching up and down along with Latour’s liquid smooth vocals.
At the prechorus, “Sailor 99” briefly veers into the kind of bold, saccharine pop reminiscent of “Electra Heart” (2012) by audacious pop star Marina before shifting gears once again to a more laid back sound during the chorus. “Sailor, can we party like it’s ’99? / You and me, computer, and we’re running out of time,” Latour sings over the fast-paced strumming of an acoustic guitar. As she references Y2K, Latour describes the sense of impending doom her lover brings her.
Although the track’s disparate elements — slow synths in the verse, pulsing bass in the pre-chorus and the acoustic ballad in the chorus — seem individually incompatible, Latour weaves them together seamlessly. With moments of whiplash that are more thrilling than befuddling, “Sailor 99” encapsulates how love feels threatening, heartbreaking and riveting all at the same time.
While “Sailor 99” constantly changes pace, “XOXO” sticks with a fast beat all the way through. Over a pulsing, dance-worthy beat, Latour explains the rush of getting back with an ex she knows is bad for her but is irresistible nonetheless. “You know my body more than a-anybody / And there ain’t nobody who can X like you,” Latour sings. The relationship she describes in “XOXO” is a familiar one that appears frequently in the original album — a blurred line between friends and lovers.
Latour doubles down on the adolescent thrill of the rendezvous she knows her friends would disapprove of. She employs the same semi-abrasive production as on tracks from the original album, such as “Officially Mine” (2024) or “Too Slow” (2024). On “XOXO,” Latour has even more fun, cheekily singing, “Oh no, did we take it too far? / We just X-O-ed in the back of your car.” Similar to Olivia Rodrigo in her song “bad idea right?” (2023), Latour finds joy in hidden reconciliation with her ex, even if it will hurt her later. With pristine hyperpop-adjacent production, “XOXO” improves upon the risks Latour takes in “Sugar Water.”
The deluxe edition’s second single, “Miss America,” released on April 25 is one of the album’s strongest songs. The track begins with another sugar-sweet beat as Latour paints a picture of love that is less toxic, but no less confusing, than the one she referenced earlier. “Let’s change tables, let’s change T-shirts / Sit by the window, watching the people,” Latour sings, bringing a fresh shoegazey quality not present on the original album. As she belts the chorus and hits soaring high notes, Latour demonstrates her vocal and lyrical growth since “Sugar Water,” crafting a sarcastic song that is instantly infectious.
“Maps,” the final deluxe track, begins with a wavy, undulating synth over the sound of people cheering before collapsing into an EDM beat reminiscent of a 2000s pop anthem. “Connecting my beauty marks with a pen / Telling you secrets and forgetting them,” Latour sings. The singer-songwriter’s lyrical prowess shines as she describes tender moments with someone she cannot have. The contrast between the song’s energetic production and bittersweet verses underscores the confusing tug-and-pull of unrequited love.
“You’re the only thing that I ever wanted / And I never said what you mean to me,” Latour sings during the song’s outro. She struggles with the fleeting moments she has with the person she desires, bottling up her brokenheartedness as she does in original “Sugar Water” tracks such as “Comedown” (2024) and “Whirlpool” (2024). The track is strong, and Latour employs the same dynamic vocals as on “Sugar Water.” It is questionable to end the effervescent deluxe record on such a somber note, but on “Maps,” Latour reveals a rare vulnerability that is no less impactful.
As a whole, “Sugar Water (Deluxe)” improves upon “Sugar Water” in every way. Latour offers mature lyricism and production, even as her pursuit of teenage freedom reveals remaining insecurities. She makes heartbreak electrifying and love dangerous as she channels the best bits of “Sugar Water” into a collection of five tracks that cement her as a woman searching for her own form of liberation.
Hunter Buchheit (he/him) (28B) is majoring in U.S. History and Business. He loves writing about music, Emory events and politics, and in his free time enjoys playing piano, running and spending hours crafting the perfect Spotify playlist.
