photo by hunt pennington
When Katy Kirby's latest offering Tap Twice sort of boils over, or erupts, crescendos into a lush piece of indie pop (with chamber pop affections) it is truly startling and unexpected and thus seems bigger than when Jimmy Page dives headfirst into that iconic lead solo on "Whole Lotta Love". I am being serious, Kirby is so exquisite in her quiet moments on Tap Twice that her and her band's eruption is seriously amazing. That is not to say that Tap Twice would of been any less without it though.You see, her voice starts off alone with an easy, very pretty lilt and kind of matter of factly vocal aesthetic. Her voice, itself is interesting and pulls you in but it is her melodies and blend of charm, insight and acerbic nature that disarms you. Her self harmonies are rad, and the density and musicality exhibited by her and her players is tight and so very potent. Love this song.
Of the song, Kirby writes:
"Tap Twice is about the formation of unspoken agreements in a new relationship, the process of silently negotiating with someone what you might mean to each other, and what happens when negotiation turns into an arm wrestling match over how much you’re willing to reveal. About the weird rapport that develops as you’re circling each other this way (unless it’s all in your head?), triangulating data from small gestures and two-word texts, analyzing the face smiling at you from a profile picture, reading into the murky details of an internet persona. It’s about sooner or later accepting all this as part of the territory--learning to live in that spooky interpretive space with someone, respecting it as a part of the deal you’ve struck up."
Katy Kirby sounds like an over-thinker. I am one as well and there are, quite frankly, a lot of us out there. My guess is that it has to do with all the information out there and how it fucks with our heads, but I digress.
Players: Katy Kirby (guitar, vocals), Logan Chung (drums, aux percussion, guitar, keys), Ross Collier (therevox, omnichord), Hunt Pennington (guitar) and Zach "Zook" Tittel (bass).
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
Katy Kirby is a songwriter and indie rock practitioner with a writerly focus on unspoken rules, misunderstandings of all kinds, and boredom.
Kirby was born, raised, and homeschooled by two ex-cheerleaders in small-town Texas, where she started singing in church amidst the soaring, pasteurized-pop choruses of evangelical worship services. After high school, Kirby moved to Nashville, where she managed to graduate college with a rapidly expanding circle of artistic allies, an amorphous collection of leftist beliefs, and a few handfuls of songs.
After a series of painful failures to complete a record that reflected the temperament of those songs, Kirby finally turned to dear friends and co-conspirators to form a band capable of constructing a satisfying full length.
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