WESTERN VINYL 28th June 2019
Plenty of good songs come from break-ups and this album is one. Charting the emotional fall out of Cara Beth Satalino’s relationship ending, this could have been a bucket of misery but isn’t. Songs have a delicious edge of melancholy, tied to strong melodies and deceptively simple arrangements. The guitar playing is expressive but always unshowy. Tunes and rhythms have a flavour of REM or The Lemonheads and the effect is ultra-accessible – a mid-tempo rock / indie fusion.
The opening of this album is beautifully relaxed and smooth, very reminiscent of mid to late period Fleetwood Mac and a great place to start. It is also the single, I See Her Face, and is emotionally open, drawing the listener into a personal conversation as Satalino looks for her own brighter self. The album is a (hopefully successful) attempt by Satalino to lift herself up by her own bootstraps; writing from the perspective of a stronger version of herself, someone who is already past the experiences she is mired in. The result is warm and understanding, tolerant of faults, both lyrically and in its warm musical tones, which wrap the listener up like a comforting blanket.
Like a glass globe outside, reflecting the moon, the songs reflect an imperfect image of Cara Beth and her experiences, a picture disconnected from reality and with the emotional disassociation that can fall in moments of extreme difficulty. I’m amused by the title of YWLGOML, which the chorus reveals to be ‘you won’t let go of my life’ and swings gently (with even a rock and roll sax accompaniment) whilst carrying a sense of regret. The songs aren’t literal and are more concerned with communicating the feeling that a better self might have than a specific setting; hence plenty of simile and comparisons.
The band consists of guitar, keys, bass and drums, with Chester Gwazda, her ex-partner providing the guitar and keys. This may be responsible for the measured and accepting nature of the album. A rumination on one aspect of the human condition; the album is, most importantly, a really enjoyable warm listen – something made for an evening in on the sofa.