Kelleigh Lonidier is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and creator of the project Solar Pixie Journals. For those who are new to her work, Last Song For Baby is a pretty fitting place to begin.
The track is incredibly unique, showcasing from the offset an artist with a creatively free and expressive approach to making music. The opening vocals lay out a certain vibe, perhaps purely quirky or characterful, but the instrumentation that follows adds a partly retro partly modern minimalist rhythm and ambiance, and slowly but surely the whole thing starts to brighten up.
There’s an indie bounce to the song as it plays out, the beat feels familiar and stylish in its simplicity. In addition, there’s a very specific, quickly recognisable riff that flickers at the end of each verse line, and this adds even more in terms of making this a memorable, interesting piece of music.
On top of everything, just as you think you have the theme and the vibe down, and you know where you are, the three minute mark introduces a totally new aura – this thick, distorted, hard-rock wall of audio emerges, and the guitar solo meanders freely and passionately as the solo story-teller for the final quarter of the track.
Lonidier’s vocal sound feels well suited to the electronic rock world initially, the effects overwhelm the personal touch a little, making the voice seem as if it’s simply another instrument. In line with this though are the lyrics, adding that all-important touch of humanity, and despite the vocal effects – the odd line that you catch, the picture painted before you, is as unique as the sound itself. There’s observational poetry at hand, perhaps even metaphor – the whole thing works hard to intrigue its audience.
Chad Perry’s feature on this single switches things up a little and brings about an effective level of contrast – the melody, the sound itself – there’s a fairly black and white difference between the two parts, and the hook – the strongest melodic moment – is given the spotlight in the right kind of way. Creativity reigns on this track, and the more you hear it, the more you start to appreciate that.
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