Born and raised in Texas, where she started singing in the church choir, Katy Kirby’s earliest exposure to music was evangelical worship songs. Further inspired by her songwriting and university studies, Kirby’s debut album, ‘Cool Dry Place‘, is a cleverly written compilation about the desire for, and fear of intimacy. She also shares her thoughts on the lasting effects of her religious upbringing and the intricacies and nuances of her relationships.
As an opening track, ‘Eyelids’ sets the scene for a subtle and understated album that relies on clever and poignant lyrics more than complicated compositions or heavy production, with much of the album sounding like a live ‘living room’ recording. Kirby’s pure vocals are left to shine through, leading us through an album of songs that deconstruct her Bible Belt upbringing and bring something altogether cooler than the worship music she remembers from her past. “I can hear myself negotiating with that worship-ish music”, she explains, “fighting that deeply internalised impulse to makes things that are super pleasant or approachable.”
Another standout track on the album is ‘Peppermint‘, a jaunty surf rock song about the pain of losing a once close connection with someone:
‘I lost my best friend / I never had him / He’s disappearing off a ledge / I guess he left the way him came in’
The song, with its funky bass riffs and cymbals, feels like a long, sunburnt day on the beach, filled with too much sand, too much sun and too much beer. It is hazy, lazy, and a little bit sad.
The title track ‘Cool Dry Place‘ opens with the hum of an amp, which continues as a drone throughout the song, building up, electric guitar on top of electric guitar, crescendoing towards the end of the song. This build creates a frantic cacophony, with screeching strings and overloaded speakers – an almost headache-inducing sound. This is fitting when you listen to the lyrics, which describe Kirby as a panacea, soothing her lover in the way that painkillers soothe a headache:
‘Can I come over, is it too late? / Would you keep me, keep me in a cool, dry place? / With my head on your shoulders / not too much weight / Would you keep me, keep me in a cool, dry place?’
Although this appears, on the surface, a sweet sentiment, it’s laced with the grief of a relationship that thrives solely on one person providing comfort and care to the other in times of distress. Without that interaction, it seems the relationship would be nothing.
Kirby gives a nod to her religious background with ‘Secret Language‘, which opens with the lyrics of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah.’ It likens the ‘Secret Chord that David Played’ to a secret language between friends or lovers, and singing of the fear of gossip, and the worry of outsiders understanding their secret codes and mantras. Whether or not it’s intentional, this song is as close to sounding like church music as the album gets. The repeated line opener ‘I heard that…’ and the canonic ‘I got you called up‘ are both reminiscent of the evangelical music she grew up with.
A strong and assured debut album full of simple, natural coolness, ‘Cool Dry Place’ is the perfect accompaniment to the long days that are starting to stretch out before us. Wistful, funky and full of humour, it is the perfect mix of folk, indie pop and country ballads. Clever and intricate lyrics weave stories of loving, longing and coming of age. The album is a cleverly written memoir, intimate and fragile whilst remaining buoyant and lively. Kirby’s vocals are beautiful, emotive and pure, sure to stay with you long after the music has stopped.
