Return

Englands Katy J Pearson launched her music career in the mid-2010s as half of indie pop duo Ardyn with her brother, Rob Pearson. After creative differences with their London-based label put the brakes on releasing material, they worked up songs outside of the project for Katy to perform solo. Those efforts gained steam when she relocated to Bristol, eventually signing with a different London label, Heavenly Recordings, for her full-length debut. The ensuing album, Return, wraps Pearsons observant lyrics and girlish tremolo in a near-effortless blend of folk-rock, country, and indie pop for a notably warm and breezy first impression. It starts with rustic strings, strummed acoustic guitar, and a pop-minded rhythm section on the uptempo Tonight. The songs narrative recounts an interaction full of vulnerability and personal philosophy, all delivered by a winsomely lilting voice and like-minded melodies. The smokier Beautiful Soul is next, with Pearson just as effective in a setting of Stevie Nicks-like mystical folk-rock. Return proves to be consistently intriguing as it unfolds through searching tales of affection, conflict, and missed opportunities. Quieter moments, like the spare, fingerpicked title track and closing song Waiting for the Day, are contrasted by bouncy, full-band ventures like Fix Me Up, provider of the albums most infectious chorus. If theres a true diversion included, its the keyboard-based Take Back the Radio, with its relatively more-mechanical demeanor and accents of brass and signal noise, but all the songs here are lyrical and involving in their own way. Its an impressive, filler-free debut that manages to be both uplifting and poignant, almost from beginning to end. ~ Marcy Donelson

兄弟とのデュオ、アーデンで活動してきたUKのシンガー・ソングライターがソロ作を発表。ギター・ポップやソウル、カントリー、インディー・ロックといったエッセンスをミックスした楽曲は、まるで若かりし頃のドリー・パートンが名門レーベルのヘヴンリーからデビューしてきたかのような趣。PJ・ハーヴェイらを手掛けてきたアリ・チャントのプロデュース手腕も光り、完成度と初々しさの共存した良作が完成した。
bounce (C)柴田かずえ