Why I listen to songs in the first place
-photo courtesy of Tyrannous’ flickr
A fresh pair of ears can do wondrous things for a song. Like Whitney Houston did to “I Will Always Love You” or Jimi Hendrix’s take on “All Along The Watchtower” or the Manfred Mann Band’s cut of “Blinded By The Light” (which the Boss calls the definitive version of the song; I couldn’t disagree more) a different perspective or way of thinking can completely transform a song, superseding the original to become the definitive performance of the tune. Today we’re talking about much lower-profile musicians, but the effect remains the same: Laura Stevenson is rocking the shit out of a cover on her latest release.
In a lot of ways Stevenson sticks out like a sore thumb. The folk(ish) artist was/is a keyboardist for Bomb The Music Industry!, one of the noisiest punk bands around today. But while she’s served that role she’s also been performing solo material that is leagues apart from the over-compressed, thousand beats-per-minute, shriek-howls that denote BTMI!’s sound. With her first release, A Record (recorded with her backing band, a loose and free-flowing collective known as the Cans), out on BTMI! frontman Jeff Rosenstock’s donation-based download label Quote Unquote Records, she still sticks out amongst the myriad punk rock bands that make up its roster. Luckily she doesn’t seem to mind.
Stevenson’s sound can be all over the map. A Record sees her transitioning from hushed acoustic/banjo’d balladeering to 20 second interstitial tracks to crunchy electric guitarded rock songs. She frequently writes about herself, her insecurities, the impact a personality or attitude can have on a relationship. On the surface that may sound like fairly typical singer-songwriter fare.
But Stevenson’s songs propel her above that. The loose feel of her recordings and the simplicity and passion that drive them are given a strong boost by her sprightly vocals. That’s likely the thing that will catch your attention, especially on the standout track from her latest release, a split 7″ recorded by and with her bandmates in Bomb The Music Industry.
As lovely as the Stevenson original (”Halloween One & Two”) is in the lead slot, the BTMI! cover is astounding. A song titled “It Ceases To Be ‘Whining’ If You’re Still ‘Shitting Blood’” might seem difficult to class up, but Stevenson and her Cans (that sounds kind of wrong) strip away the layers of noise and grit to completely transform it. The original is a coarse song (boasting the most “eff words” per-second I’ve heard in a long, long time) that is lyrically rife with the tension and pressure that seeps into every crevice of a band’s being when they’re on the verge of hitting the big time, of the crushing expectations a songwriter feels when they expect every song to be the one that will put them over the top.
In Stevenson’s hands the track is given a crushing fragility, her lilting soprano clearly enunciating every line as though the fate of her career hangs on every syllable. Her voice enhances the message, reading like a self-affirmation, a promise to herself to continue writing songs that she feels have merit regardless of the opinion of others. A gradual build leads to an emphatic climax in the last chorus, exploding from the speakers as a joyous, ebullient revelation. It leaves me exhausted and ends far too abruptly.
I love Stevenson’s work and knowing her interpretive abilities are at least on par with her writing skills is a nice surprise. Hopefully it leads to some BTMI! fans checking out A Record. Her songs may not be breaking barriers, but I feel like they are slowly but surely chipping away at them. With loveliness.
Laura Stevenson & the Cans - It Ceases To Be "Whining" If You're Still "Shitting Blood" [2:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Laura Stevenson - the Pretty One [3:15m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadDig on Laura Stevenson at Quote Unquote Records, where you can download her songs on a honour-based donation-payment system. The BTMI! split, which I love ever so dearly, is out now on Kiss of Death Records.
