When The Wind Blows
This is a great album opener…. Katy is singing acappella setting the standard for the album, it starts off dry, no effects then just as you don’t expect it, there’s some delay and reverb in there… it’s a short clip with percussive elements – are you beating on your chest for the snare Katie? Hmmm…. Excellent work….
Sleep
This is the song that introduced me to Katy, via the Fresh On The Net inbox. The thing I like about this is the fact that it’s got some really nice bits in there, my favourite being around 2:02 where she simply sings “Sleep, oh, sleep” over and over again… I am not being over dramatic here but it feels like I’m being serenaded by a choir…
WOW.
As someone who has a terrible time sleeping at night, this speaks to me a LOT. I love the offbeat beatbox, it gives it such a jazzy feel… This is by far my favourite track by Katy. I just need to go listen to it a few times… BRB.
Head Above The Water
I think it’s worthy to note that Katy uses her voice in so many different ways while recording this album, the imagery conjured up is pretty special.
What do I mean?
Well for one thing this song begins with her singing “bah’s” and it sounds like droplets, like rain dropping the rhythm is slightly off like the way rain doesn’t fall in time… It’s musical poetry. And the use of reverb to give you the feeling of going under water is a perfect way to close it out.
Frankie Beeches
This is a short excerpt, and caught me off guard as to how short it was… it’s gorgeous though!
Trees
One thing you need to know about Katy if you’re following is that her lyrics and melodies are very poetic. This allows her to be introspective and conjure images vocally and lyrically…
“Trees give me strength…” this stays with me.
Something beautiful here.
Devil
Katy did a tutorial on this via Instagram, showing how to recreate it. I’m not much of a singer nor am I a beat boxer but while she makes it sound effortless, it’s hard as hell!! But you get an idea as to how this comes together, one thing I would like to say is she talks about wind and you hear wind blowing.. when she talks about the devil getting in her head there’s an unnerving feeling because the sounds go through effects and swirl around you. Another piece of evidence that Katy can conjure up images easily with her words and vocals. Like I told her on Instagram…
You. Are. A. Genius.
I Have A Song
This starts off on a low note, and then builds up, what I like about Katy’s songs Is that she’s on point with her vocal arrangements…
The other thing I like is that she isn’t afraid to play around with her vocal range. This starts off low in the register of her vocals, and this is backed up with a low “Ohhhhh”.. If I was playing this on the piano I’d love being able to use the suspended fourths…
Katy goes percussive with her duh duhs… My favourite little surprise in this track.
Box In The Attic
Change of time signature with this…. 6/8 time, with triplets…
Lyrically this is about finding pictures that conjure old memories, I’m getting a glimpse into a family history here. This song ping pongs back and forth with those triplets and it just lulls me to sleep to dream of memories I haven’t experienced, but seeing it through someone else’s eyes… it’s simply gorgeous.
Seventeen
“Seventeen years in this town, I know the back roads and the byways better than the back of this town…”
This song brings Katy’s storytelling into play again. She muses about whether she belongs there, but at the same time celebrates the little things that people would probably pass over… the song starts off with percussive off beat doonga’s laying the foundations for another stand out track on the album but then…. before you know it, it’s over.
Segueing beautifully into…
Makes Me Forget
The thing about this track is that the line that sticks out to me is “Makes me forget that I’m alone”… it’s a mirror reflection of “Seventeen” a kind of “In spite of all this… there are good things, the little things that I remember that makes this life good…”
That’s my interpretation.
Growing Peas
“Zadoo zadoo zadoo zadoo…”
Another vocal instrument in Katy’s arsenal.
This song is another commentary on lack of sleep.
I am not complaining. I feel you.
So many different things to reflect on, like what’s causing it, blue screens, watching disturbing news reports….
This song is almost like a confessional, like the entry in a journal, and allows Katy to talk about her life, pretty much the same way the album does as a wider body of work. For me this is the perfect album closer….
She ends on a positive note of talking about dreaming of performing before a live crowd again, so it’s a note of what she’s been up to since lockdown began… I think all us creatives can relate.
In conclusion this album has so many stand out moments, Katy’s professionalism linked with her playful creativity, and genius use of her vocals combine to make things beautiful.
I really enjoyed listening to this and I’m going to go listen to it again…
