Music Review: Muna frontwoman Katie Gavin makes her solo debut with folky, evocative 'What A Relief'
On “What a Relief,” the debut solo album from Katie Gavin, the Muna frontwoman tackles love, family and selfhood through folk and country twang that departs from the band's usual dance-forward pop. Don't worry, this isn't the end of Muna — the trio of Gavin, Naomi McPherson and Josette Maskin are still making and performing music together. Her bandmates participate here, too, with Maskin playing on seven of the 12 songs. But Gavin’s solo project — the first away from the band for any of the three since it formed in 2013 — is a defined, separate entity. These songs, written over seven years, are the introverted folk siblings of the band's extroverted pop. Take “Sparrow,” a striking song that opens with the sounds of birds. Over a guitar melody, Gavin sings about longing for a sparrow's call, a signal she's assigned to a lover. “Come winter, come winter/I lost my lover,” she sings, her tone steady. “Just like the birds/She’d up and gone.” While she waits, sick trees are treated with chemicals, inadvertently killing…
24 Oct 17:00 · iNFOnews.ca