The best artists are the ones you can’t describe with a simple word-tag or generic byline, even when making a fairly familiar sound (broadly speaking). The more caveats and compound words you need to add to a description, the more interesting the artist generally is; after all, if something is easily described, you have probably heard it all before, not to mention that the best bands and artists always shrug off any easy label within a song ot two.
So, when you see a tag like indie-pop-rock applied to Kim McClay, which are, after all, the big three, then it is pretty obvious that hers is an ever-shifting, genre-hopping, exploratory and adventurous sonic world.
“Velveteen Girls” is an example of why tagging her is only something the foolhardy would attempt: a song that comes on with a gruff rock-and-roll groove, builds and blossoms into an indie anthem, yet retains chart-friendly accessibility. Add to that lyrics that remind the guys that women are not living their life just to meet their expectations, and you have a killer track…even if you can’t quite pin it down on the musical map. Actually, because you can’t quite pin it down on the musical!
Then, “Firefly” throws an immediate curveball: a song steeped in folk finesse, occasionally exploding into raw rock intensity. By the time you get to the title track, you’ve given up trying to work out what she is doing and just go with the fantastic flow. The EP rounds off with the most gorgeous “Something Like Love,” a song of serenity and subtlety, space and sophistication.
And if the music is fantastic, the lyrical messages are equally standout. As the title suggests, she asks questions about value…our own and the weight that is imposed on us by others, but also in a broader and more timely sense, of how we treat our neighbors and what value we put on community, culture and country, all questions that are becoming more pertinent and poignant daily.
Kim McClay is not only a clever music maker, she is a brilliant sonic documentarian, asking questions that seem to have got lost or subverted in the white noise of social debate and political discourse, and which fall to artists such as her to, perhaps not offer solid answers but at least open the dialogue.
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