Music Review // Maïa Davies "Lovers' Gothic"

The sound of Maïa Davies is fueled by both her voice and a piano more than anything else on "Lovers' Gothic".   These songs can have a sad way about them, as the first song "O.K. I'm Not Okay" sets the tone for, but in that sadness they can also become uplifting and powerful.    The artists you might expect are in here and I can't get into more specifics than to pull out comparisons such as Fiona Apple, Polly Scattergood and P!nk.  

As the voice drives these songs so do the lyrics.  On "O.K. I'm Not Okay" there is mention of the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and the next line says  "Just erase it from my mind".  I really wish something like that existed- that we could erase memories- and I'm glad that someone else is talking about it so we can maybe get someone working on that.   That same song goes on to say "Ok I'm sad / Sometimes life is just like that" which feels very realistic.

"Stockholm" has this darker, sort of Lana Del Rey way about it.  The big strings come in to form a dramatic and intense sound.   Drum machines and pianos take us into "Fuck You I Don't Forgive You".   What I really like about this album is that it makes you think, but the songs also feel connected.  As the title of the fifth song suggests, perhaps if this person was willing to forgive the other person they would not need that Eternal Sunshine method done from the previous song.   When we forgive others, we're really helping let those things go for ourselves (or something like that)

But as the song says: "I'm not over it / Cause I'm only human" so maybe in time forgiveness will come.   This album is completely relatable and on "Death of an Angel" the vocals seem to take over all else.   This becomes incredibly powerful when the line "Did you think you had given me life" repeats and in some ways this sound also reminds me of Meatloaf.  The titular track is short and sweet, a nice way to sum up everything else which will leave you crying on the train but also dive deep into your thoughts while pushing those musical boundaries.