Early this year Kris Angelis released her EP “That Siren, Hope” on Bandcamp. I was excited to get the EP and have a website to discover indie artists. Thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic, I have time to explore Bandcamp more. After spending a few hours sifting through dozens of artists, I found a hidden gem. Gracie!’s song “Party Favours” caught my ear with it’s fun low electronic thumping beat and party regretful, quirky wall-flower lyrics. The Party Favours album was written, recorded and released in one month as part of an one month album project. Almost all of it was recorded in Gracie!’s room which is impressive, making me wonder what it could have been with more time and production. However, that might have taken away from it’s gritty honesty.
Gracie!’s first single “Valentine” and the first four tracks on her Party Favours album (“Oranges In The Afternoon”, “Audry”, “Worms”, and “Fall In Love”) have a demo sound with hauntingly tinny vocals and at-home electronic musicianship. The quality improves as the songs advance, as does the lyrical content. “Don’t Say It” has a tough bluesy-jazz chanteuse vibe, self-mutilating “Romantic Heart” delivers a broken heart to her lover in this dreamy ballad, “Candyfloss Curls” lives up to it’s cavity inducing title with it’s sweet sound and sugary lyrics, and “Crazy” balances the fine line between a crush and insanity. My favorite track is the sexy, carousel-riding, male-objectifying “Double Cheeked Up” with cheeky lyrics “boy, you’re looking so cute / double cheeked up on a Thursday afternoon / boy what you gonna do with all that ass / oh oh enjoying my view / double cheeked up on a Thursday afternoon.” I have no idea what “double cheeked up” means, I could Google it, but I prefer the thoughts in my over-active imagination instead.
Gracie! isn’t a big name like many of today’s divas but how many could write, record and release a full album in a month’s time? Gracie! may not have much publicity or airplay but she’s got a double cheeked up amount of talent, in my gay opinion.
