Georgie AT HOME. Soul Kitchen Records

Mansfield singer-songwriter GEORGIE has released a new studio album: AT HOME. 2020 has been a year of unprecedented happenings, filled with extraordinary stories. AT HOME, the new album by Georgie is very much hers. Written against the backdrop of a global pandemic, this is a story of love, loss and redemption in these strangest of times.

The record was recorded as Georgie found herself suddenly housebound, locked-down and going through all kinds of hell. Forced to curtail a high profile tour in support of The Lighthouse Family as the coronavirus began to take hold, Georgie returned home only to find a relationship in ruin. Facing an uncertain future in both music and her love life, Georgie sought solace in the isolation of her small home studio and began to write. Channelling raw emotions, bittersweet feelings and tainted memories of a disappearing era, the 8 tracks of AT HOME materialised through the haze. In songs of heartbreak (’Unrequited Love’, ‘Rules We Broke’) to reflections on the importance of friendship (’Company’, ‘Simple Things’), inner struggles (’Now We’re Lonely’) to hopes for a brighter future (’Blue Waters’); Georgie lays out a roller coaster story of love, loss and redemption; all her own, all experienced entirely ‘At Home’.

Speaking about the writing process of the upcoming album, Georgie says:

“After finishing a UK tour with The Lighthouse Family, Covid 19 descended and forced me to lock myself away. I was lucky to have been building up my own little home studio over the past year so when the lockdown hit I had all I needed to get through and stay creative. AT HOME happened totally organically. When everything seemed to be spiralling out of control world wide and even more so in my personal life I turned to what I know best, writing songs. Writing this album has been my most enjoyable creative time to date. I had no idea it was something that would become an album, I was writing these songs purely from the heart and because like everyone else I didn’t have much else to do.”

Review

The record comes awake with the soulful ballad ‘Simple Things’ which is performed with great expression and sincerity. It is backed by a strong melody and the simplest of instrumental arrangements. ‘Unrequited Love’ goes uptempo with a hook laden and radio-friendly song about the frustrations of love. Production is at fault here creating a fog that hides the full sonic impact of the song.

‘Rule We Break’ is stripped down to a single acoustic guitar accompaniement for most part and Georgie overdoing an American accent while displaying a wide vocal range. It’s a pedestrian song unlike the following ‘Chasing Kites’ which goes upbeat with a strong R&B flavour and I suspect has a good chance of winning radio airtime. ‘Now We’re Lonely’ again suffers from a rather foggy sound in a song that souinds as though it could suit as a soundtrack to a romantic movie.

‘Me And You Only’ again sees Georgie pretending to be an American pop star instead of a chanteuse from Mansfield, England. I am left wondering why American accents are deemed so necessary in our UK music…The song is attractive enough with diverse pace and strong choruses. ‘Blue Waters’ is a wandering ballad with strong R&B vibe and a melody that delivers. The whole record lasts just 22 minutes but with few exceptions lacks distinction and production values.

3/5