Katy Kirby – Juniper

With music and words that seem not quite aligned but very much in a good way, Texas-based singer/songwriter Katy Kirby releases her third album-preview single ‘Juniper’. It is a contrast to the leisurely musings, big chorus and grand finale of ‘Cool Dry Place’ (the title track to her forthcoming debut LP due this month) and before that the delicate and playfully addictive ‘Traffic!’

‘Juniper’ has one of those chord sequences that sounds like it is constantly catching up with itself and instantly lodges in your brain. A relaxed vocal effortlessly flows above the uncluttered backing, sometimes giving way to just a lone guitar. The imagery of the lyrics ‘…you don’t need a gardener to know…which way the blossoms going to float….’ meshes seamlessly with the instrumentation, with extra nuances through the two and a half minutes running time. According to Katy “This is a song about motherhood, mostly...’

On the strength of these three tracks the forthcoming album should be a real treat…

Mike Wright