Katie Gavin’s debut “What A Relief” taps into the unguarded self-possession and homespun pop sensibility of singers like Alanis Morissette, Fiona Apple and Ani DiFranco, and uses their tenacity as a north star for Gavin’s own trek towards self-discovery. “This record spans a lot of my life – it’s about having a really deep desire for connection, but also encountering all the obstacles that stood in my way to be able to achieve that, patterns of isolation or even boredom with the real work of love” they say.
On Katie Gavin’s “What a Relief”, we hear the powerhouse voice of Muna taking on different shades. There’s less of her band’s bombast, and more Lilith Fair-leaning string instrumentation, as Gavin weaves her influences, while frankly discussing generational trauma, failed relationships and loss. “Sanitized” is pure Fiona Apple worship, and on country parable “The Baton”, she’s channelling The Chicks’ Natalie Maines. Of course, there are moments where those irresistible Muna type melodies rear their heads – “Aftertaste” and “Casual Drug Use” could easily have been on Muna album–
but the best moments on this record are those that feel like they’re all Gavin. Despite the heavy subject matter, she sounds untethered, like she’s opening up, showing us who she is and what made her that way.
Written over the course of seven years, “What A Relief” comprises a set of songs that Gavin always loved but which “had something in them” that she and her bandmates felt didn’t quite fit within the universe they were trying to cultivate with Muna. Many of them were written on acoustic guitar, and are rooted in “a style of music that’s very much in my blood, and natural for me,” as typified by the Women and Songs CDs that Gavin loves, which compiled music by artists like Tracy Chapman, Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan.
That openness of spirit is the overwhelming character of “What A Relief“, an album that’s refreshing in its willingness to accept people as they come, even as it remains in dogged pursuit of a life that’s kinder, wiser and more loving. Gavin’s explorations of desire and intimacy feel time-worn and necessary – songs that might teach a generation if not how to live, exactly, then at least how to look within oneself for guidance about how to move forward.
‘What A Relief’, out October 25th on Saddest Factory Records.
The Fat Angel Sings 