Kathryn Williams’s beautiful world of simplicity’n’directness

An album should be 10 or 12 pages of artist’s diary, methinks, and in that case it would boil down to what life s/he leads and the inner life appears of more important than the external one; outside should be observed and reflected but it is only an element, a fragment of reality and life. Tonal content is determined by the music that had been consumed during the taste-forming period. All requirements specified, in most cases it fails to work…

But, when it does it hits the pleasure zone. Kathryn Williams is a jewel of an artist who has traded in her independence – after the second, self-produced and surprisingly-but-justly Mercury Award nominated ‘Little Black Numbers’ album in 2001 – for the majordom of AOL Time Warner’s imprint EastWest. Such change of fortune, and thank whomever for it, has brought no alteration: this is still individualistic, intimate, fragile, sparse and spellbinding listening.

The main thing about Ms Williams is that it has always been about a singer, a song and a sentiment. Music is almost incidental, just backing unobtrusively, providing a springboard to display vocals that are as airy and ethereal as quietly dramatic. Stripped to the bare emotions, it doesn’t require ‘Hollywood-like’ paraphernalia to make it into a blockbuster.

To single any of this set of dozen songs would be unjust as each and every one is a little precious item as delicate as icicle. But, if you were to put me into ‘Room 101’, ‘Daydream And Saunter’ is a track from a smoky joint, jazzy and dreamy as a fictitious soul-mate; ‘Beatles’ is a simple, guitar-backed, peon to a teenagehood that followed after the fact but was still changed by the artfulness of the bygone sonics. ‘No One Takes You Home’ is also cool quality.

Ms Williams’s music, despite of a major budget and demoing, hardly ever needs any production because she is the most effective in front of a mike, minimally backed, and delivering it directly, to and in your ear. Thus, three songs have been left untouched: ‘Devices’ with its moody strings that is balanced with the sweet, bubbly love song, ‘Swimmer’ but counter-balanced by the dark ‘Wolf’ about destructive relationship that ends in stalking.

But then, when music is this beautiful, it would be a crime to interfere with the artistic method and as necessary as Britney Spears’ need for plastic surgery (although she could do with a fashion adviser).

‘Old Low Light’ will appease music lovers who are post-image scheming of the ‘Polaroid-popscene’ and way beyond any hype and chart manipulation.

9/10