In many ways, Ray Duncan is like most musicians the world over, someone holding down a series of, let’s call them, less than glamorous jobs whilst building her musical career. In her case, service industry jobs in Nashville but there is undoubtedly a parking valet in Bombay, a short order cook in Berlin and a graveyard shift office cleaner in Bolton who can relate to her situation.
Unlike most musicians, however, she has turned those experiences into a brilliant EP of songs, taking those dead-end job experiences and forging them into wonderfully astute blue-collar narratives, scenes and scenarios for everyday people. You might think of her new EP Laundromat as the modern-day spiritual equivalent of Billy Joel’s “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant,” those people-watching observations turn into songs written from the perspective of the person you don’t even notice.
Musically, the songs here are just as eclectic and astute as the narratives they carry. “Waitress,” which opens the proceedings, is a song forged as much from deft piano and emotive lyrics as from the smell of cocktails and the steam from the dishwasher. The title track is a bluesy-groover, shot through with soulful sonics and seductive sounds, the soundscore to a rom-com, a cinematic story in its own right.
Lead single, “Used To It,” leans into Duncan’s previous, more folky work before exploding into sassy rock and roll, the author exploring band habits and addictive cravings, a low-slung anthem soaked in scintillating organ and cigarette smoke.
Laundromat looks at the invisible people, some working hard to realize their dreams, most just working hard to keep themselves afloat. These are anthems for the everyday people, the workers, the underclass, the you and me. And it is that honesty and vulnerability, that element of the noble savage, that relatability makes the EP so heartbreakingly brilliant. Ray Duncan is the gritty presence in these places that allows the pearl to form, and these songs are pearls of wisdom for the modern age.
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