As an Indie Music journalist, I love when I am introduced to bone-breaking, take no prisoners, female artists who choose to settle into thier own skin instead of bowing to the masses. One that writes music that illustrates her personal comfort and courage. Earlier this year, I got the opportunity to digitally meet Georgia Fearn.
Georgia Fearn is an Indie Music singer/songwriter/musician from Carmarthen, UK who began writing songs at the age of nine. Through the years, she has developed into a talent that is set to explode and become a mainstay on the charts with her eclectic blend of Electro-Alternative-Pop/Folk music.
Recorded at Studio49 in Narberth, “Perfect on Paper” is her newest release and it holds 12 tracks of music that play like tiny documentaries inviting listeners into a world where things are perfectly imperfect:
- L’Amour
- Catch Me When You can
- Misty Mae
- Be Careful What You Wish For
- Does It Ever Make You Wonder
- Sharp Objects
- Perfect on Paper
- Master of Jazz -
- Emptiness
- No Need to Hide
- Always Be Yours
- You Wouldn’t Do This If You Did
This will be a Capsule Review of “Perfect on Paper” where I will highlight the top tracks. So, let’s just jump right into the music, shall we?
We start with “L’Amour,” the first single off the EP. “L’Amour” is an up-tempo Electro-Pop track that has a nice Hip-Hop bounce to it. The premise of the track illustrates how something that is considered a bad habit like smoking may not be the worst habit – broken love may be the habit to break – Fearn sings “You told me you were leaving cause I smoke too many cigarettes / I broke the bad habit and I drove straight to your address / I saw you pressing your lips to someone new / my walk home was lonely, didn’t know what to do / It’s time to break my other bad habit: You.” Adding some romantic French language to the mix brings more insight to the contrasting idea of this love, where it is supposed to be romantic, is just another bad habit to break, Fearn further sings: “stay close everyday, don’t tell me what to do / I drink too much and I tend to smoke a lot, too / I’m high, on love / document the world like you’ve never seen it before / Je de déteste va te faire voir (I hate you, I’ll make you see) / I’m high, sur l’amour.” Then, at the two minutes / eight seconds mark, there is a nice musical texturizer with the incorporation of a dual vocal and an eclectic, yet frenzy accordion played in the tune that is usually illustrated by a calliope. This adds a nice dark tone to the track. It is not a revenge song, but more of a “this is me” track where the artist owns who she is and advertises it to the one who misunderstood her.
The title track “Perfect on Paper” starts like a modern-day fairytale and it mutates into a Pop, Folk, R&B clip that has a bass guitar that is sick – it just sits low and bounces. Moreover, the guitars on this track are just rudely ah-mazing, they are loud, in your face, melodic, and wonderful. On this cut, Fearn sings of how a relationship may be devious, i.e. where first the man appears “perfect on paper,” but then his true nature shows up – she sings “I know he never loved me, he just loved the thought / he thought there was a girl out there who’d do what he wants / she’d smile in loving manner to her man perfect on paper / not knowing soon she’d see every awful, heartbreaking, sickening, ugly thing he could be.” The overall rhythm of this track is so welcoming, and what I love about Fearn’s music is that she makes sure to incorporate nice changes to the music to eliminate music monotony - a sad common fixture in mainstream music. This track is not like that! This is texture and music tightness personified.
Following “Perfect on Paper” is “Master of Jazz.” On this clip, Fearn scales back some and rides the track more Soulful instead of Pop and it gives a nice variety to the EP. The storyline of the track is about a man that sings and brings such passion to the femme fatale, but when he’s gone, so is the passion that was felt. The lyrics illustrate this point: He’s the Master of Jazz / when he sings you come alive and when he hits the chorus you feel something inside / and when the song is over you feel like you’ve died. The title of the track and its message is a great play on words as this premise is metaphorically illustrating the reliance of someone else to awaken your soul. Fearn’s range is appealing and softly strong. She does not sacrifice her style at all, she still displays her organic scatting riffs, and she brings the house down with the Jazz instrumentation – the brass section, piano, bass, rhythm section, and percussions. The eighth track also feature backing vocals by Elaina Hoss and has a nice bar-room aura to it. Hoss’ vocals add a touch of sugar and spice and makes the track oh, so nice. This is for my Modern Jazz devotees.
The final track is “You Wouldn’t Do This If You Did” a track about broken promises and unmet expectations. The 12th song in the collection wastes no time in getting into the meat of the music. Much different than many of the tracks, “You Wouldn’t Do This if You Did” has a Dance-Pop feel with Latin influences where there’s some Salsa instrumentation riding the higher chords and some Samba creating the rhythm. Featuring a lighter kick and composition, Fearn alters her typical Mezzo-Soprano and sings in a lighter Soprano register showcasing her varied singing ability. The overall melody of this track has a captivating hook contributed to by both Fearn and Elaina Hoss. The track starts out mellow and then evolves into a spontaneous feel-good cut.
It is evident once you hear the music of Georgia Fearn that there’s no limit to where she goes or what she does in music. Her music feature themes found in modern Pop culture and it stays raw and unrestrained. It is that wild vibe of the music that just draws you in.
Like Lorde, Fearn delves down deep into her own feelings and do not apologize for the reality of the lyrics. She is both cryptic and classy, conflicted yet powerful, and that combination gives her that “IT” factor that will catapult her further than the trajectory that many may have predicted.
And even though there may be some comparison to Lorde, Fearn is staying true to herself continuing to build songs that have strong foundations that will be mainstays instead of one-hit wonders. Also, she keeps a tight grip on her original vocal shape where she bends it to where it sounds like she’s spitting (as rappers do) and blending it to classic lyrical flow. It is a great organic mix and it is infectious. You would typically hear this type of singing on an R&B track (i.e. Beyoncé) but it is quite refreshing to hear it in the mixed genre of Electro-Alternative-Pop/Folk music.
And that is just her voice!
Georgia Fearn’s music will strike a chord with both female and male fans telling the story of living with common sense. Fearn plays the guitar on every one of her tracks, and within “Perfect on Paper,” you will also hear instrumentation pulled from Hip-Hop, R&B, and Rock. So, there is an ever-present bassline that rides on many of her tracks giving them a bounce and swag, yet, there are infectious strings blended with traditional Folk instrumentation to add a unique shape to Fearn’s overall musical shape.
So, get ready for music that will easily become the salt on the rim of your Tequila glass.
Fearn will be playing at the Big Cwtch Festival August 31st through September 1st of this year guys – make sure to check her out. In the meantime, head on over to her social media platforms to keep up with this Rock Star!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GgFearnMusic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/georgiafearnmusic/