About E. Braidwood - Writing Services
Music: My First Love
I've always loved creative writing, but music is the thing which has had me obsessed since a young age.
I first wrote music reviews for The Mouth Adelaide, an online review website (Australia). In addition to this and freelance music writing, I have been a musician for about twenty years, meaning that I have an insider's viewpoint, as well as a huge amount of published lyric writing.
The two industries work beautifully together; after all, it's all story-telling.
Review of 'Click', single from Olivia Miceli
Click – single review, Olivia Miceli
It seems, lately, that the concept of a gender balance in the music industry is less of a misnomer; artists like Chappelle Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, and Lola Young have – in addition to producing gloriously poppy, honest and often rather comical music – begun to somewhat slice through the glass ceiling and invite a range of independent new female musicians to the fore.
Olivia Miceli is one such artist.
Past singles such as Green Eyed Monster have found initial popularity for its post-80s sound, hook-fronted structure, and ambiguous, spare lyrics that leave space for the listener to interpret; it would be right in place in the background of an episode of Stranger Things, or in the headphones of my own 90s Walkman whilst in the back of a childhood car ride (assuming I have both a copy on cassette, and a time machine).
New single Click – released in January of this year – is the same blend of catchy earworm and big lyrical themes touched on with light curiosity.
As a lyricist, it’s hard for me not to start with the voice and its words, and these are instantly relatable; concerned with our modern prepossession with a click upon a picture or words, something everyone who posts or seeks what is, let’s be frank, external validation, Miceli’s clever play on words also takes the idea of a ‘clickstream’ and extends the metaphor into inviting the listener in for a ‘deep dive’ into her musical back catalogue.
In addition to Miceli’s delightfully relaxed vocal tone and song-writing style, reminiscent of Joanna Newsom in terms of the light but accurate touch, and engaging, personable tone, as though she is right in the room with you, the overall sound of the song is one of near-immaculate production; the guitar sound references Mac de Marco’s loose jangling, whilst synth xylophone (or glockenspiel – can anyone really tell?) cleverly highlights the click hook of the song as though the player is hovering a cursor over their own instrument.
Use of synth strings later on maintains the energy of the song after a bridge which – my one criticism – is perhaps a little overwritten lyrically, although I appreciate the reference of a post 90s/00s ‘telephone’ vocal.
In all, it’s an undeniably catchy piece of music which gives the listener a little to think about after listening, dynamically fluent and, best of all, exceptionally short; a lasting joke or comment on the temporariness of our attention spans as well vaguely seek the next thing to click on, briefly appraise, and then move on.
We’re all guilty of it; the trick is to keep the interest for longer than a few seconds. Having listened to it at least twenty-four times myself on repeat (in part, admittedly, for the purposes of this review), the key seems to be to encourage a repeat play, and it’s something Miceli encourages masterfully yet it with a wry, sweet humour.
So, if that’s not enough persuasion, why not take a listen for yourself? You only have to…
Review of Live Show
Review - Armaggedon Rockers, Amey St. Cyr, The Riversiders
The Venue, Heatham House, Twickenham
On a wet Saturday in late November, a diverse crowd of young and old assembled at The Venue, Heatham House’s generously-sized performance space, minutes
from Twickenham Station. In a community-centred event which fed hearts and stomachs, with its Jamaican kitchen, three acts set out to create a manifold, cross-genre evening of entertainment and grooves.
Local band The Riversiders opened with a competent cover of Bill Withers’ Ain’t No Sunshine - swiftly followed by some of their own tightly arranged original
songs, including Stranger, which was recently released on Spotify and Apple Music. Their set included a cover of Misirlou which went into I Bet that You Look
Good on the Dancefloor - a tight arrangement and transition, but one which highlighted their need for live backing vocals. Vocally and musically their original compositions were evocative of 2000s Indie
guitar bands The Kooks and Temper Trap, but with a pleasing edge through the glutinous lead guitar parts, putting me in mind of more recent Manchester band Blossoms.
In a change of pace, London vocal act Amey St. Cyr took to the stage in a riot of sequins and charisma, performing original and cover House and Dance tracks,
including a version of Billie Holiday song Don’t Explain and two singles which are currently available on Spotify, You Can Get it Girl and No Pain No Gain. With her
powerful vocal tone and energy, she had the crowd up out of their seats and dancing. Amey unites the current nostalgia for big voiced UK Garage and House
with her own natural stage presence and song-writing ability.
Headliners Armageddon Rockers are a new dub/reggae/punk fusion band from
the local area, who performed a 45 minute set of mostly originals. Combining postpunk sensibilities with powerful lyric poetry from lead artist Lennox, songs such as This Chain and Surviving set the tone; challenging lyrics and poetry against a
backdrop of cool, cross-genre musical vibes. The set really came alive when the drummer and two guitarists lent their vocals to the mix, creating a wall of sound
which helped the two genres to musically cohere. Armageddon Rockers will be releasing their single Racist in December, taking on racism in football.
https://www.facebook.com/armageddonrockers/