KATIE SPENCER
What Love Is
Katie Spencer’s third album is a beautifully sophisticated collection of songs from an artist receiving deservedly increased recognition and success.
Besides the reviewer’s own enjoyment of the delights on offer, the album has also met with great approval from a car full of musicians as well as a partner who doesn’t always share my taste in music. It has therefore achieved 100% critical acclaim and I shall attempt to explain why.
Imagine a warm, tastefully lit room, your most comfortable chair and your finest choice of drink to hand, now what would you like to listen to – the correct answer is ‘What Is Love’. It’s an album that will wrap itself around you and keep you there from start to finish.
In contrast to her last album, which took its inspiration from the land and seascapes of her native Humberside, this album is the product of inner reflection and presumably personal experience, lyrically engaging and musically rewarding.
The songs are perfectly matched to her voice, but as a singer-writer, what also sets her apart is her guitar work. She is the anti-shredder, offering a chiming resonant tone, and arrangements where every note counts. Don’t count their number, enjoy the space. There is a John Martynesque feel to some of her playing, as there are echoes of Joni Mitchell in her vocals but she is more than the combination of those influences, and very much her own artist. Comparisons may be lazy shortcuts to description, but we all need our touchstones to help generate interest in those who may be new to her work.
Whist managing to feel like a complete piece, there is variety within the album, helped along by some additional instrumental contributions. In particular the clarinet of Giacomo Smith, blending beautifully with both Katies’ voice and guitar, adding a haunting beauty to ‘Cold Stone’. Pedal steel and synth contributions are also tastefully understated additions.
Hopefully an album that will trouble other people’s list of the year’s best and not just mine, make up your own mind and make its acquaintance when you get the chance.
