Delaying the Inevitable with Lou Trigg

Wowzers, it was four years ago since we last mentioned local singer-songwriter and musician Lou Trigg, when we reviewed her single to come out of Potterne’s Badger Set studio, Flowers. It’s a good time to catch up, because Lou is releasing a three track EP called Delaying the Inevitable, this Friday (16th October,) where the finale is a second part to Flowers….

At the time I called Flowers, “a chorale delicacy,” which “trickles along sublimely,” and there’s been no change of style since, only a huge development in the narratives, and Lou’s ability to express them. All these songs are equally angelic and orchestrally ambient anti-ballads, which, with subtle piano, angelic backing chants, acoustic guitar and the occasional moody drum, perfectly balances the distinctive and euphoric desperation in Lou’s voice.

This time around Lou recorded them herself at Mudlark Sound Studios outside Bath, and Martin Spencer mastered them at The Badger Set. There’s three tunes, subtle folktronica, complete, quite short, yet songs with that kind of ambience which leaves me wondering what magic someone like William Orbit would make of them.

You (Her) has a slight electronic buzz but is deeply poignant. It takes the ‘talking to the other woman’ narrative of Jolene to the next level. I mean, we never know if Jolene acts on the obsessions of the storyteller’s partner, it’s all in the assumption, but here, the broken-hearted narrator sends the cheater directly to the third party, dejected but with a warning of his negative characteristics. It’s a moody break-up song where, even when there’s sadness, there’s something magically and satisfyingly uplifting in this beautiful song. This tenet flows through the three tunes.

Home has the hook and commercial viability, and drifts so wonderfully you’ll believe you’ve known this song all your life. The differences here being it seems more communal, and any doubts in the relationship seem subjective, that the object of her desires is metaphorically as comforting as home, when they choose to be. “It’s a song about your birthday wish,” Lou described, “that every birthday, you wish for the same thing and will, until you get it, what you once had.” 

The second part of Flowers is a melodic conclusion to the past ballad, and slightly more folk-inspired, with only a delicate and perfectly placed electronic click. It ventures to a dark denouement, capturing the mood of a victim of an emotionally abusive relationship and impels the listener to mourn, or at least take sorrowful heed. “It ends the story I began to tell,” Lou explained, “unfortunately, it didn’t have the best ending, but I decided to share my story, as many women will have gone through similar. I thought it was an important story to finish.”

There’s an honest melancholic passion driving these songs, reaching out to the spellbound listener. Lou stresses this closure of Flowers “relays a dark time in my life,” and every sublime beat is a tear the listener feels on their own cheek. It really is on an Adele level of emotional expression. But the magic here is also lying heavily on the distinction of Lou’s powerfully unique vocal range, and the musical compositions reflecting them. And for these elements included, and so cleverly combined, these three beautifully poignant songs match what Adele left the world.

Now I know at this exceptionally high accolade of a comparison you’ll cry, ‘oh you, with your saccharine flattery,’ and assume that Lou must have some really posh biscuits in her biscuit barrel I’ve got my eye on! But I’ll tell you now, that bloke with the lovely smile, Mr Threlfall, has been spinning Home on BBC Introducing in the West last week, and Lou knocked these songs for a six at Komedia’s Electric Bar last night. So, just you wait until Friday, check them out for yourself, and you’ll realise there’s more than a packet of M&S All Butter Scottish Shortbread at stake here!

Delaying the Inevitable, is out this Friday (16th October.) Here’s Lou’s Spotify, follow and pre-save!

Trending…..

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

Leave a Reply