Narc. Magazine Online
Reliably informed
Isabel Johnson discovers an album of striking lyricism and brutal songwriting from the North East artist
Sometimes you can smell the words ‘concept album’ from a mile off, and the smell isn’t always pretty, impressive, or entirely necessary. In Jay Moussa-Mann’s new album, The Lady Vanishes, the concept is women’s rights, and the album is pretty, impressive, and so deeply necessary. Seriously, why has nobody written a song about women being granted credit cards before?
There’s a really refreshing self-confidence and – dare I say – swagger emanating from the record at all times; striking lyricism, perfect pop production, and even an excellently timed goat impression thrown in. The songwriting is brimming with opinion and brutality, though sometimes so much is said that it doesn’t quite fit into the lines. In all fairness, when you have song titles like Ovulation Day and Mediocre Men, Jay doesn’t seem interested in colouring inside the lines anyway – a refreshing quality in the pop world of overproduced, often over-censored music.
Fans of empowered female songwriters like Taylor Swift and Chappell Roan will find a lot to love in Jay’s record. Out on 24th June alongside its very own hardback companion book, it’s well worth lending your ears to, and suitable for both dancing and pondering.
