Graham Reid | | <1 min read
Swimmer
The full title of this debut album by Maine-based singer-songwriter Genevieve Beaudoin is It's Summer, I Love You and I'm Surrounded by Snow.
And that dichotomy of sun and snow is apt on album which should appeal to those who like their alt.folk with a bit of grit, darkness and raw-edge electric guitars in places.
Beaudois can deliver with an engrossing weariness which is palpable (the appropriately titled Burnout which comes with a gentle swipe of cello and crispy guitar) but can equally deliver in a howl of strident and angry despair (the downbeat folk rock of Bad Habit). Sometimes both in the same piece.
There is also memorable pop here in Swimmer and Maladie.
Great band too.
If you check her website she doesn't look happy in her recent video clips. So at core this album is perhaps more snow-blown than sun-kissed, a bit more Patti Smith than Mel Parsons.
But Beaudois sells everything with a raw authenticity and – although these songs were apparently recorded on the fly in various halls, deconsecrated churches and houses – you get a real sense that someone important has just announced herself with a diverse but coherent collection of songs which delve into depths or soar with equal accomplishment.
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You can hear and buy this album at bandcamp here
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