New Music Update: Basia Lyjak releases "Never Wanted Anything"
Basia Lyjak's 5th independent release is here! 2 EPs and 3 stand-alone singles in the last half-dozen years have explored a wide musical range for this Toronto-based rock singer, and in listening to her journey of stylistic self-discovery, the point she drives home with her songs is that good music defies genre.
Her first EP, a hard-to-track-down self-titled disc, dished out 6 catchy, pop-driven tunes more suited to adult contemporary fans than the heavier rock crowd her latest material has won over.
"Writings on the Wall," her 2007 release showed huge stylistic growth. From simple pop songs, she graduated to a grungier sound with 5 versatile tracks, Writings starts off with the Queens of the Stone Age meets electropop vibe of "Stuttering" and pure pop rock of "Bye Bye," and on to the empowering chick anthem "Plastic," which there's nothing particularly tongue-in-cheek about. Ending with two gut-wrenching power rock ballads "Torn" and "Lies," "Writings On the Wall" is short n' sweet, a delectable taste of a rainbow of emotions and sounds. The EP delivered stellar vocal performances from Lyjak, tight performances by the musicians who played on the songs and fantastic production by Andrew Lauzon. One would almost be inclined to say, "Fantastic production for an indie record," but amongst a playlist of major recordings with more cash pumped into one track than all of "Writings," you would be hard-pressed to single her out for anything other than solid delivery of solid material.
If "Stuttering" wasn't enough of an infectious, fester-in-your-head-for-days (but in a good way) rock track, 2008 saw her release "Don't Talk." Co-written by local-turned-international heartthrob Kyle Riabko (who has spent much of the last couple of years on the road, including with the Spring Awakening musical), it's the kind of track every musician wants to write - simple as hell, contagious, singable, relatable, and just an all-around good, fun rock n' roll piece. Similar to the kind of envious scorn Nirvana songs were and still are met with, it's so simple that you could write the damn thing yourself, right? Well, you didn't, and maybe the biggest trick for a songwriter is to, in fact, keep a simple song just that: simple and free of gratuitous self-indulgence. "Don't Talk" does just this; it's poppy, it's heavy, it's straight-forward and it delivers just enough of a ripping, noodling solo at the end to make you want more! Your little brother is just as likely to want to hear it again as your grandma is - we're talking wide appeal, here! Complete with a video, the track is all over the web, and despite its command, it's got people talking!
And it managed to keep her fresh in people's minds long enough to bridge the gap between it and her last single, the FACTOR-awarded and funded "What It Feels Like." Another track penned with Kyle Riabko, it was released at Basia's NXNE 2009 showcase this year. As with "Don't Talk," it was also produced by Brian Moncarz of Rattlebox Studios -- a facility resulting from a partnership between Moncarz and Tool producer David Bottrill -- and after perusing their MySpace page, it's clear where the monster production comes from! Equipped with a "state of the art SL AWS 900," most any musician would kill to have their music recorded with such a beast, and the sonic result is incomparable. "What It Feels Like" is an emotional Spirograph; drowsily luring you in with dizzy, rhythmic guitars and lilting bass and drums, the track starts off melancholy, and subdued and ends with a bang (or, more fittingly, a scream). Lyjak's vocal performance is reminiscent of a monologue in a tragedy; with the range of feeling relayed lyrically, so does her voice dip, soar, accuse, beg and triumph, each word dripping with as much conviction as sincerity. A keen ear will also hear band mate Pat Kelly's velvety, sinister baritone echoing Basia's cautioning pre-chorus an octave lower. Enter the chorus and the whole band kicks into high gear - chugging rock guitars and bass, heavy drums and true rock n' roll vocals take this track from what seems like a ballad to something that belongs in an arena filled with 20,000 screaming people. Not quite another love song, the tracks seems to echo lyrically sentiments expressed by Lyjak in interviews -- it ain't easy chasing a dream (maybe it ain't smart, either), and those around you don't always let you forget that. But it's worth it, and so is giving 3 minutes of your life to give this tune a spin (and every subsequent listen is just as worthy).
For such a heavy, fresh new rock track, "What It Feels Like" hasn't gotten the attention so far that it really should have. May it's not typically commercial enough, maybe she did wait too long to follow up "Don't Talk;" either way, those are shoddy reasons to overlook a song by an artist who seems to bridge "chick rock" and "dude rock" so flawlessly.
If Basia tapped in to these potential reasons for the quieter response to the song herself, perhaps her brand-spanking new single, "Never Wanted Anything" is a big 'bite me' to her detractors. For starters, it's unique for her catalogue in that it was co-written with someone no involved in her previous efforts, Norm Sabourin, and recorded out of his Aqua Sound Studios. While the track obviously features trademarks like Basia's one-of-a-kind vocals and her core band members, guitarist Ron Bechard (Crash Karma, Sin Dealer, Patrizia), bassist Dave Carreiro (Nigels 11, feat. Chris Kirkpatrick of 'Nysnc, Slash Puppet) and now former drummer Glenn Nash (Q107 house drummer) (Dale Harrison of the Headstones and Alannah Myles's touring band now drums for Basia), it's also got a generous splash of Sabourin's influence - he shares guitar duties with Bechard and is the axeman behind the decidedly retro guitar solo in the bridge. Now, that's not a bad thing by any means -- it arguably seems like there hasn't been an enduring hit top 40 pop song in a LONG while that doesn't feature a classic riff, lick, melody, lyric or loop. Why praise pop artists for recycling when there are still artists out there producing those classic sounds that people will still want to hear 20 years from now? Further widening the reach of the song is R&B/soul singer Kim Davis, whose back-up vocals contrast and complement Basia's epic rock delivery.
Where "Don't Talk" was maybe too polished and simple for some, and "What It Feels Like" wasn't simple enough for others and a little rougher around the edges, "Never Wanted Anything" is the compromise. It's got pop, rock, melody, memorable lyrics and hook, and if it's not good enough for pop AND rock radio - then what the hell is, and who is setting these standards?
Basia Lyjak's catalogue proves she's no one-trick pony who managed to squeeze out one catchy song to gain her indie notoriety. The 8 songs she's released over the last two years feature many co-writers and collaborators, four producers, five studios, a dozen musicians and one connective tissue - Basia herself. She surrounds herself with the best and clearly challenges herself to be the best in turn. Everything she has put out has been, quite simply, great music. No big name label, manager or investor behind her, this girl has been trucking it independently, and not once have her releases reflected this in terms of quality. Let's have an indie round of applause to Basia Lyjak, and hope that the majors figure it out a hell of a lot sooner than later!
