5 songs feature: Katy Kirby

With just four weeks to go until the release of her hotly-anticipated debut album, songwriter and indie-rock practitioner Katy Kirby has already proven herself an unsung lyrical genius.

Born and raised in small-town Texas, where she was homeschooled by two ex-cheerleaders, Katy began singing in Church, amidst the pasteurised-pop choruses of evangelical worship. Years later, she moved to Country capital of the world; Nashville, where she graduated college armed with an ever-expanding circle of artistic allies, a collection of leftist beliefs, and a handful of songs.

After a series of painful failures to create a record which reflected the temperament of her already existing material, Katy turned to close-friends and co-conspirers to form a band capable of constructing a satisfying full-length album.

That album was 'Cool Dry Place', due for release on 19th February 2021, via Keeled Scales. Both atmospheric and emotionally honest in equal measure, 'Cool Dry Place' sees Katy dismantle her internalised fear of intimacy, laying bare her very real vulnerabilities in front of the listener, with the backing of a truly infectious indie-rock instrumental. Speaking on the albums title-track, Katy has said; "This song is me beginning to see my own needs in an embarrassingly transparent way" adding, "I too am nothing more than a meat-bag of vulnerabilities."

So, where does Katy source inspiration?

 1. Superbike - Jay Som

"As a wounded child of the folk revival-revival, I spent the latter half of the 2010's practically allergic to acoustic guitar, lest I sound like a pair of suspenders over skinny jeans. Quite honestly, I still am a bit allergic, but this song made me remember how that kind of texture can have a delightful, scratchy kind of sparkle that feels simultaneously humble and para-glidlinly optimistic. Hearing this for the first time was a genius and needed a reminder that literally anything can be cool and interesting if you're using it right."

2. Starfish - Joelton Mayfield

"I have known Joelton Mayfield for eight years, and have been trying to write better songs than him for nearly as long. As my dearest and oldest friend, I've often had occasion to listen to his songs in their earlier stages, but for some reason I didn't get to listen to 'Starfish' until he was playing it in front of me, full band, at a house show in 2018. It is obliteratingly beautiful and sad, about loneliness in a way that I've never heard anyone else pin down in that way. When I heard him play this song for the first time, I knew he'd levelled up again, I'd have to get my act together if I didn't want to die of shame. I will defeat him one day. Probably."

3. Wonder - Lomelda

"I am probably not the first person to note that Hannah Read sounds refreshingly unafraid of her own voice. Or maybe not unafraid, just not as goddam self-conscious as some of us. I have no idea, obviously. But this song is, as most Lomelda songs are to me, genuinely, literally inspiring. Of course, it's unbelievably good, the type of song I dream of writing, but it has a sort of grim hope built in I hung onto during a (personally and universally) brutal June and July. There's a Sufjan Stevens interview somewhere where he talks about "sturdy melodies,"  that last centuries, like hymns. Instantly-learnable, but not ear-wormy. Simple but transcending out modern conceptions of "hooks." This one feels like that to me."

4. Ibuprofen - Blaketheman1000

"Blake Goldberg is a person I've been inspired by for a while now, and I'm extremely proud of this particular song. It's hilarious and gentle, surprisingly elegant when you stop to think about it. It makes me miss dancing with my friends more than anything during 2020."

5. Ming + ZhiZhi - China Club 

"China Club is the best band I will ever see live. Watching them play is a hypnotic, life-affirming event which makes me feel more in touch with what I value musically - I'm more conscious of the sounds in my environment for days afterwards. Their most recent record 'Ming and ZhiZhi' feels like a single song, and pretty neatly captures why they absolutely fucking rule."

Listen to Katy, here.
Instagram: @katykirbs