There’s something to be said about transporting yourself to another place and time. Especially now, when there’s an orange lunatic and his merry megalomaniacs trying to destroy everything, genocide in Gaza, the rise of the right here and a government who seems to be just trying to win a popularity contest by upsetting as many people as they can, it’s very welcome that someone is trying to take us back in time to Laurel Canyon circa 1969-72.
Because there are shades of Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Carole King, Crosby, Stills and Nash, and Neil Young in much of this stunning five-track EP from Laura Fell.
It probably also helps being by the sea. Written by the sea where she lives, somewhere between Hastings and St Leonards-on-Sea, she took three years off recording and has now released two EPs in less than a year.
Much of the subject matter is the end of a relationship, and whilst this is a well-trodden road for the songwriter, it’s not unsurprising when pain, heartache and loss all amount to a type of grief. It therefore almost feels like an intrusion or tantamount to guilt to take such pleasure from such sorrow.
Yet, there is the catharsis that songwriting can give to someone, to find closure and a full stop to a period in someone’s life.
‘Blur The Lines’ is a beautiful opener. The liquid clean arpeggio guitar is like a microdose of mushroom, an angelic vocal, coupled with the real slight cracks, making it both dream-like and incredibly human. It fits perfectly with the lyrics in the chorus: “Can’t help it if I try, when we get high I lost control/but you’re not the path I chose”
‘Talk It All Apart’ has a similar guitar part, if not slightly reverberated. There are bird noises and what sounds like the sea, it comes across as almost a calm argument, accusatory lyrics appear autobiographical, chastising herself as much as her lover.
‘Losing Game’ is where the production brings the retro atmosphere in. The guitar feels like it has decades of experience, that it’s seen things, it’s felt things, it’s weary.
‘Outlines’ gives out beach vibes. The organ almost sounds like panpipes. There’s something very Caribbean, an ounce of reggae, but not too much. You come out the other end wanting some kind of cocktail in a hollowed-out coconut. And a siesta in a hammock.
Laura has such an incredible, unique voice, the range is exquisite, from an almost Baritone to a Soprano. There’s a sultry Nina Simone element to it, but with a lighter, feather-like quality that is utterly intoxicating.
‘Easier’ has a delay on her vocals, making it sound like a harmony part in the verse, but then she really does harmonise herself in the chorus.
With the recording already underway with Mike Lindsay in Margate for her second LP, we won’t be waiting as long for something new, and possibly more excitingly experimental with Mike on production duties. Still with that unmistakable voice, like an angel in the darkness.
