★★★☆☆

After her recent success with Gotye in their duet “Somebody That I Used to Know,” Kimbra again slips into the spotlight with her second album, “The Golden Echo.” The New Zealand singer picks up the tempo from her debut album “Vows,” switching her R&B, jazzy style for elements of electropop. The track plays down her soulful, sultry voice and trades it in for experimental beats that are reminiscent of ’90s pop music and contemporary artists like the synthpop duo La Roux.

The track opens with the song “Teen Heat,” which sets the stage for the ’90s modern mix that permeates the rest of the album. Both “Teen Heat” and “Love in High Places” add ambient, more instrument-heavy tunes to the classic pop lyrics and beats. This throwback theme is fittingly named in the song titled “90s Music,” which showcases contemporary synthetic beats that again break the ’90s mold and introduce a modern twist to the song.

Kimbra experiments on many of the tracks with unexpected rhythms and a stronger bass sound, yet she also returns to her clearly preferred decade in songs like “Nobody but You” and “Miracle.” These songs revolve around the theme of love and romance, sticking to an upbeat tempo and pop sound that make them perfect easy listening.

It’s interesting to note that the lyrics in “Miracle” take on a slightly more religious tone, with lines like “I’m rising up/ Sometimes I feel so far away/ But it’s like somebody sent you.” This motif appears again in “Madhouse,” where Kimbra sings, “Chaos and disorder!/ I’m a mess then I’m a messiah.” Although they’re not the focus of the album, these spiritual tones underlie many of the tracks, distinguishing it from many of the other pop albums currently on student playlists.

Whereas the majority of the album focuses on playful, fast-paced music, Kimbra takes time to slow it down in her songs “Waltz Me to the Grave” and “Goldmine.” “Waltz Me to the Grave” more closely reflects Kimbra’s work in her first album by shifting to a deeper, sultrier melody and refraining from adding the synthetic notes common to the bulk of the tracks. This combination of tones on the album allows Kimbra to show off her range of talents while giving fans of her original material something to enjoy.

For those whose only knowledge of Kimbra comes from that chart-topping duet with Gotye, the variety of styles of musical production might surprise. The clever combination of electronic pop layers of sound with more soulful, distinctive vocals often confronts the listener with a surprisingly distinctive sound, albeit not quite as unique as her earlier material, Tracks like “Love in High Places” perfectly exemplifies this type of cross-over.

In “Goldmine” and its fast-paced companion “Carolina,” Kimbra sings a message of freedom and carefreeness that make these tunes the perfect tracks for lingering summer vibes. Unlike “Waltz Me to the Grave,” “Goldmine” shifts the focus away from powerful vocals and back to instrumentals, giving a pleasant variety to the album overall.

While her debut album had stronger, more unique vocals, Kimbra’s sing-along tunes and upbeat ambience on “The Golden Echo” makes it appealing to a wider audience. She has shifted away from the familiar grounds of jazz and soul music, but Kimbra definitely makes herself at home in the experimental waters of electropop.