Vows (album)

Vows is the debut album by Kimbra. The album was first released with twelve tracks on August 29th, 2011 in New Zealand, then released on September 2nd, 2011 in Australia. The album was re-released on May 4th, 2012 with 6 new tracks that were previously outtakes of the album. This edition was released in New Zealand as Vows: Deluxe Edition The album was released to the North American market on May 22nd, 2012 and debuted at #14 on the Billboard 200. The album was recorded from 2008-2011.

Writing and Development
Kimbra was originally discovered by her soon-to-be manager, Mark Richardson at the age of 17. Shortly after being discovered by Mark, she moved to Melbourne, Australia to follow her path in the music industry, signing with Forum 5. Kimbra started recording and writing the album in 2008. The album's lead single Settle Down was the earliest song she had written, being when she was sixteen years old. Kimbra recorded the album at her home and other various studios throughout Australia. The songs on the record follow a theme of love, loss, romance and want.

Composition
Musically, Kimbra was heavily influenced by Björk, The Mars Volta, Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright and others during the creation of Vows. She wanted the album to have an overall jazzy feel, thus trying make a record that pushes boundaries but still be considered "pop music". She found Nina Simone as a huge inspiration for the track Plain Gold Ring. Kimbra has said many times that she chose the singles for this album by visualizing music videos for each of the songs and chose the top six ideas. The genre's of the album consist of indie pop, soul, jazz, and art pop. Kimbra has stated the following quote as a summary of the album's concept and overall feel:

"Vows say a lot about who you are, and even more when we choose to break them."

Artwork
The album artwork including body art and illustrations were created by Rhys Mitchell and Raphael Rizzo. It consisted of Kimbra's body painted white with black body art on, and standing in front of a white background. The full photoshoot can be seen here.

Track list and release history
There are two versions of Vows, the first being the one released in 2011, and the second one being the deluxe edition.

2011 edition

 * The 2011 edition consisted of 11 tracks and a hidden track that was exclusive to the vinyl release.
 * This hidden track is track #12, "Somebody Please". It can be heard after 1 whole minute of silence after track #11.

2012 edition/Deluxe edition

 * The 2012 edition, also known as the deluxe edition, featured six new songs.
 * These songs are the six songs used on the Australian Tour/New Zealand Deluxe Edition bonus disc.
 * This versions hidden track is "Wandering Limbs" instead of "Somebody Please"