Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The name on the cover may throw some but the voice will fool no one, for whether as the Scottish musical temptress Ella The Bird or in her new phase in life as the established and harmonious free spirited Siobhan Wilson, therein lies a subtle difference between a name change and a change of scene; gravitas and talent will always abound whether you are A or B or X or Z, and in Ms. Wilson’s seven track E.P. Say It’s True that gravitas is undeniable.
A change of name, an acknowledgement of heritage, doesn’t stop a voice from being enchanting; rather it can take it up a level, for as one salutes the inheritance so can a bridge between time be built and make the music on offer take on a different type of meaning. It is that meaning, the ownership of the music on offer that binds artist to the lyric and somehow makes it a more personal offering for the patient listener to enjoy.
To ask someone to confirm whether the truth is being told can bring up all sorts of divisions, it can even lead to the point where trust is shattered and when that trust is between artist and follower and fan then it is a precarious road in which to traverse. For Siobhan Wilson the seven tracks offer more than truth, they offer a multi-angled appraisal and perspective on her very essence as a woman, as well as a performer.
The song Terrible Woman offers a thought that all women must have in that whilst they admit to the sense of feminine cruelty that they must delve out from time to time, they take no pleasure from the act. The song resonates with the consideration that to make someone weep is against the very fabric of their reasoning and Ms. Wilson plays on that musing with great sincerity and intense depth.
Other songs such as Desperate Thing, The Great Eye and the superb You Make Everything Better all match this release of emotion and makes the E.P. one in which careful attention to each line a powerful reason to hear it as much as possible.
Say It’s True is an authorative set of songs in which to control your own thoughts and have the conviction to put your name beside them should be seen as taking charge of your own personality and formidable talent; Siobhan Wilson is reborn and recharged.
Siobhan Wilson’s Say It’s True is released on June 29th via Reveal Records.
Ian D. Hall