Geist. Shannon Lay

It is hard to keep up with the number of female singer-songwriters releasing records over the last years. In a myriad of styles at that too. Lucky for me it is less hard to keep up with records in this, broad, genre I like. When I put on Geist for the first time it was not hard to acknowledge I would be playing this album more often. And I have, so it's time to report a little on Geist.

Shannon Lay is releasing songs on Bandcamp since 2015, but to the best of my recollection, this is my introduction to the Los Angeles singer. Having written that, I should add: and what an introduction it was. The main observation is that I had the impression to have stepped into a musical time machine. Memories from long ago scratched records came by. From the U.S. and the U.K., starting with Nick Drake. With one major difference. No record producer then would have allowed for the veiled way Shannon Lay's voice was recorded. This certainly is a special feature of Geist.

When all is said and done, Geist is an album of one woman, writing songs on her acoustic guitar and then brings them to the studio where a producer has his/her way with them. Arranging them, adding other instruments, changing them from their very nature. Where live more often than not, the singer-songwriter plays them as they were once intented: intimate and solo.

On record I like the additions just fine, unless totally over the top. On Geist all the instruments are soft, (nearly) acoustic and melodic. They give depth and an extra layer to Shannon Lay's songs. Where her vocals are all dubbed at least once, the music in a way is as well. Strings, a softly playing piano add the same depth the multi-tracked vocals do. More isn't necessary to make a song like 'Sure' shine, in all its moody gloom. 'Sure' can be used as a template for the whole of Geist, as it is not a happy album. Do not expect any exuberance here. Instead, find a singer who, besides the unhappy things in life, finds happiness in the little things and brings them across by singing with a slightly lighter voice.

Lay in fact went one step further from the usual recording process for a singer-songwriter. She sent the basic recordings of her songs to two musicians with the request to add what they saw fit and then did so again with that result with a request to add keys. Ty Segall added a guitar solo on 'Shores'. What makes me wonder the most about this approach, is how much reticence all the guest musicians have shown. The basic recordings are still leading. Most of all the U.K./Irish folk song 'Awaken And Allow', that has Clannad or Enya all over it. All songs are made in incredible good taste.

If I'm to take one song as an example for Geist, it is Marty Bailin's 'Coming Back To Me' from Jefferson Airplane's 'Surrealistic Pillow' album. Also a song that demanded keeping most of the whole band out of the recording process. This is what sort of happens, in an inverted kind of way, on Geist as well. The only thing left to say, is that the album contains a cover of Syd Barrett's 'Late Night'. I can never listen to him for long. This cover changed that issue for me. A beautiful song.

Wout de Natris