Music with Motif: More than a woman

As it has recently been International Women’s Day, I thought I’d give my thoughts and appreciation to some underrated artists who are criminally underappreciated. The most emblematic of this is singer-songwriter Lisa Germano, whose alienated writing style and dreamy instrumental foreground across her discography are profoundly captivating. By far her darkest and most introspective album, Geek the Girl, explores abusive relationships and the contradictions she feels in loving a man. There are many comparisons to Lana Del Rey, specifically the themes on her 2019 album Norman Fucking Rowell, which dissects the modern American woman’s mostly negative experiences. Don’t let the dreamy pop palette of Germano’s music fool you; her work is far more disturbing, with the track ‘…A Psychopath’, using real abuse victims, calling the police to add to her paranoid lyrics. This gut-punch of an album is deeply personal and conceptual, and moments like that add chilling weight to her symbolism. Its unfiltered approach to confrontation with tragedy reminds me of Xiu Xiu, but unlike their music, the album ends on a more optimistic note, ‘Stars’, in which Germano longs for her dream world, man, and self-image. The atmospherically hazy guitars feel in touching distance but remain “far away from here”, leading her only to “smile real big” (‘Stars’, Lisa Germano).  

A beautiful ode to her musical influences and formative years

On a similar note, Laura Nyro’s trademark urban flair, blending all the musical styles of New York that she mastered on her 1968 album, Eli and the Thirteenth Confession, is an angsty story of her coming of age. It’s mind-blowing to see an album presented with such excellence on all fronts come from someone as young as 20, let alone such a beautiful ode to her musical influences and formative years, which is far easier to explore from a wiser future. Tracks like ‘Eli’s Coming’ have melodies that get me out of my seat and push its rhythmic energy higher, and there are evident Motown influences on ‘Lu’ and ‘Timer’ that I’m entranced by. If I had to pick the best of the bunch, I’d still pick more than one, with the juxtaposition between ‘Lonely Women’ and the final track, ‘Confession’, embodying a triumphal journey of self-love, womanhood, and spirituality from the gravest of lows.  

A warm hug of an ambient project that’s both tranquil and introspective

Last year had many great releases that would make anyone’s album-of-the-year list, such as Neggy Gemmy’s She Comes from Nowhere, a refreshing blend of trip-hop and psychedelia that is musically rich and danceable, despite the misleading track title, ‘I Don’t Feel Like Dancing’. In the same ethereal vein, Kelly Morgan’s Don’t Trust Mirrors is a warm hug of an ambient project that’s both tranquil and introspective. My favourite foreign language album, from last year, is I Remember I Forget by Yasmine Hamdan, which is a cross-bridge of trip-hop, electronic and traditional Arab music, with a reflection on contemporary political events and her personal experiences with memory. The meditative tone of the music and the repetition of verses build upon the themes of reminiscence and cycles of violence. Compared to her previous albums, this feels much more refined and mature, where there was clearly potential for her visionary sound.  

I often find on music forums and discussion boards an apparent lack of female representation beyond what have sadly become token picks like Bjork and, strangely enough, Carly Rae Jepsen. I love those artists, but there seems to be an implicit assumption that women can only do pop well, or if they’re really bold, art pop. This seems to infest the critical music scene itself with less notoriety for experimental female artists. It’s a problem I notice in my own music listening habits, and I hope to give greater emphasis towards moving forward.