Music Review // Kate Schutt "Moonsick"

 

"Moonsick" is such a special song because the sound can seem simple on the surface but it can actually be more than one thing.  While there are these instant vibes of me imagining Kate Schutt standing on a beach strumming a ukulele, there is also something more to this.  The rhythm sways back and forth like a hammock in the breeze and overall this just has a very pleasant sound to it.  It is not quiet and it is not loud, but it is that perfect level of tone in between.

As much as I hear this song and think of a tropical island there are also these underlying qualities which make it stand out.  Something like in the way Betty Boop used to sing a song (I think of that scene from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit") and even someone like Billie Holiday- "Moonsick" has soul.  There is this surf-like guitar solo in here as well, but that is not done so much in the surf way as you can feel the heart in it.

Lyrically this song is about the night.   There is a line which says "This waking dream is better than / Anything I'd dream in bed" which is about how it's better to experience life while awake than asleep, but also it just seems to imply doing so at night and not sleeping.  This song feels nocturnal.   As there is also a line which says "The holy quiet everywhere outspread" it feels like it is about that time of night when everything just seems to be at peace.

With those contrasts between day and night, there are lyrics near the end which ask "Is the moon reflecting me / Or am I reflecting the moon?"  If you've ever tried to work an overnight shift (I have) you'll begin to understand how being awake when most people are asleep and asleep when most people are awake can just mess with your mind.  Things can feel like they're playing tricks on you, but eventually you do grow used to it and land somewhere within this song.