This week my college football team, the University of Miami (aka “The U”) secured their spot in the National Championship game. The ‘Canes haven’t been in the big game since 2003 and haven’t won since 2001, so it is kind of a big deal.
But not for most people reading this, who came here for music not football. Apologies for this indulgence, Gentle Reader. We now return you to regularly scheduled programming.
Disc 1892 is… What a Relief
Artist: Katie Gavin
Year of Release: 2024
What’s up with the Cover? Katie in her bedroom. It is either laundry day or it should be, as the basket’s full, the bed littered with clothes, Katie is clearly out of clean pants at this point, and there’s a bra on the birdcage. That last item is not code or metaphor. There’s literally a bra on the birdcage.
Also…kitty! This cat is doing what every cat traditionally does on laundry day – sitting on the comforter so it is hard to get the sheets in the wash. Good job, kitty!
Less good is Katie’s decision to put the cat’s food dish right beside the aforementioned bird cage. In the NFL this would almost certainly be flagged for taunting. Then again, maybe by doing this Katie is letting the cat know, “hey, no need for budgi-cide, there’s a food source readily available right here that you don’t have to chase first.” Based on my extensive experience with cats, I do not believe this is a winning strategy.
How I Came To Know It: I am a fan of the band MUNA, where Gavin is the lead singer so when I heard she’d put out a solo record I decided to give it a shot.
How It Stacks Up: This is Katie Gavin’s only solo album, so it can’t stack up.
Ratings: 4 Stars
Welcome to another episode of Thoughtful Indie Pop on the CD Odyssey, as we unveil yet another example of an artist you likely won’t hear on the radio despite penning both pretty melodies and engaging and thought-provoking lyrics. Pop radio, you are stupid.
“What a Relief” sees a confident Katie Gavin emerge from her role in MUNA to show that she can go it alone and make music that is just as compelling, catchy and clever as her work in her band. The songs focus heavily on relationships, finding romance and in the daily routines of coupledom. Gavin blurs the line between sexy and domestic in a way you don’t often see (most songs veer one way or another).
“I Want it All” and “Aftertaste” lead off the record walking this line, the former a moody submerged piece, and the latter an upbeat and bouncy pop ditty. Both have lyrical depth, exploring complex emotions, and heaps of relationship history in equal measure. These songs get better with multiple listens, which is always the sign off a good song, and an essential element to pop music in particular.
While fundamentally pop in its structure, the album has a folk/country flavour in many places, often helped along by the addition of Sarah Watkins (Watkins Family) guesting in on fiddle.
A fine example of this - and one of the record’s standouts – is “The Baton”. This song is about mothers and daughters and while the theme is old and well established (the ‘handing of the baton’ through generations) this song does an exceptional job of it. Buoyed by tight harmonies and Watkins’ fiddle (hint: she is very good at the fiddle) this song will give you a tapestry of emotion, rolled together into something celebratory and uplifting.
Gavin’s influences are wide, and in addition to demonstrating strong literacy in country and folk movements, I heard a strong echo of Sarah McLachlan, particularly on moody love pieces like “As Good As It Gets”. I also heard a little Taylor Swift in the phrasing and structure of “Inconsolable”.
“Inconsolable” is one of the record’s best both musically and lyrically. Gavin’s vocals aren’t as rich as Swift’s but she has a breathy charm and a sneaky power similar to Samia (another artist you should be looking up, if you’ve read this far). The song is about two people learning to be vulnerable despite not being taught these skills growing up. The extended chorus says it all:
“We're from a long line of people we'd
describe as inconsolable
We don't know how to be helped
Yeah, we're from a whole huddle of
households
Full of beds where nobody cuddled
We don't know how to be held
But I've seen baby lizards running in the river when they open their eyes
Even though no one taught them how or why
So maybe when you kiss me, I can let you see me cry
And if we keep going by the feeling, we can get by”
Hey – if lizards can do it surely we can, right?
The record is not perfect. The jazzy elements on “Sanitized Girl” pulled me out of the moment just to be clever, which is a pop no-no. It’s a minor quibble though and is more about my personal biases than anything fundamentally wrong with the song.
Note that while I said this is Gavin’s solo effort (and it is) fellow MUNA member Josette Maskin appears on over half the songs, playing guitar, bouzouki and something called a ‘tamburica’ which the internet tells me is a form of lute originating in the Balkans. She does not play these at the same time, of course. That would be very hard.
When I started listening to this record, I had it pegged early for a 3-star review, but through the course of the week it just got better and better, as I took in the layers of what Gavin accomplishes here, and liked it more and more. This one’s a winner.
Best tracks: Aftertaste, The Baton, Casual Drug Use, Sketches, Inconsolable, Sparrow
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