Lucy Kitt – Stand By
Wineberry Records – 22 March 2019
If you are minded to be of the opinion that there is already a surfeit of solo female singer-songwriters plying their trade, then be prepared to revise this notion and make room on your music shelf for Stand By, the captivating debut full-length album from Essex-based Lucy Kitt.
Born into a music-loving family, at the tender age of 16 she formed riot girl grunge band Ostara¸ who quickly gained a positive reputation in the Romford and Upminster locality. Following the demise of the group, and having moved to Kent to study at University, Lucy developed a love for folk and acoustic music and became a fixture, as a solo performer, on the Canterbury music scene. 2007 saw her song-writing skills acknowledged as she reached the semi-finals of the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards, which acted as a springboard for her to gain further exposure via live appearances both in and beyond the UK.
Taking inspiration from her parents’ music collection, which included the likes of Sandy Denny, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, and despite her south-eastern England background, Lucy‘s creativity is firmly located within a Los Angeles’ Laurel Canyon soundscape. What she produces, however, is not mere plagiarism; whilst her well-tempered blend of folk, Americana, rock and country blues creates a sensation of the familiar there is no doubt that her work is very much of the here and now.
With all tracks on the release being self-penned and performed by Lucy, they are reflective, honest autobiographical accounts of personal experiences – truly meaningful songs delivered with heartfelt simplicity, possibly acting as a catharsis.
Whilst there are obvious inherent dangers, such as apportionment of blame and the making of value judgments, when writing about relationships, (failed or otherwise), emotions and feelings, at the risk of an over-the-top theoretical analysis, what shines through on this album is the obvious high level of emotional intelligence that pervades Lucy’s lyrics.
Thus the opening song, which gives the album its name, pulls no punches. Notwithstanding a jaunty up-tempo tune, Lucy moves straight into laying bare her heart in order to try to unravel the reasons behind a failed relationship
‘Will I ever understand why?
Why you left me there on stand by
Why’d I ever want to stand by you?’
whilst also possessing the self-awareness to acknowledge
‘I’ve been a fool’
This is not a one-off, the trait arises later on Thief, a warm, mellow song in which Kitt’s candour accepts
‘And I know the joke’s on me
I’ve got myself to blame’
Resilience is recognised as a positive attribute on Said and Done with references to knocking down walls stylishly delivered in a manner that immediately registers positively. With loss and longing running as a vein through Gone, and lyrics such as
‘It was so good for me that pain’ …
‘And now my days are running cold’
in Little Country Song, there might have been a danger of the album suffering from an overload of maudlin sensitivity. This is not the case, however. Balance is achieved with, for example, the inherently sunny Days Like These, a delightful composition which oozes charm.
High-quality additional support is provided by Sam Beer (Treetop Flyers), piano, Wurlitzer, dobro, guitar & electric guitar, Dave Holmes bass guitar & Pat Kenneally drums. With recording and mixing also being undertaken by David and Sam at Soup Studios, aboard Lightship 95. Nowhere is this better exemplified than on Eagle, a song which originally appeared on Lucy‘s 2012 Where I Belong E.P. as a spartan voice/acoustic guitar track. Whilst her voice remains firmly centre-stage the instrumentation on this new version is totally apposite and elevates the song to a higher plane.
There is no doubt that with these ten songs Lucy has revealed much of her hidden self, but one has to believe that there is much more of her unknown self to come. Whereas the earlier E.P. could possibly be seen as a cabochon, this the full-faceted gem of an album, and perhaps the biggest compliment that I can give is to suggest that it is difficult to believe that it is not the product of a Laurel Canyon habituée, such is its veracity, especially given the fact that it is a debut.
On album closer, Better Days, Lucy wistfully looks back in search of the better days. Respectfully, I suggest that with Stand By, there are certainly betters days ahead for this talented artist.
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