Shed a Tear for Talent
Singer-songwriter Fay Wolf makes music to make you cry, according to her website. Her first full length album, Spiders, is 11 tracks of unyielding sadness, chipper piano, and not much else.
Spiders begins with Fay’s distant vocals accompanied by slow, melancholy drumming on “The Thread of the Thing.” Deep piano playfully accompanies most songs, like on “Dead Dads and Sad Moms” where piano and drums are the only instruments used, complimenting Fay’s voice well. The eloquently titled “Black People” uses triumphant horns to preach her message of racial harmony. Unquestionably, Fay’s vocals walk the line of cheerfully sad, embodying powerful emotions in every song, and while she certainly developed her own style on Spiders, it becomes a little repetitive by the end of the album.
The bottom line here is that Fay Wolf is undoubtedly a talented singer. Her songs fill a certain niche; listen to them when you’ve had a bad day or when it is pouring rain. I would love to see Fay live up to her full range of potential, which isn’t entirely demonstrated on Spiders. The first half of this record was inspired, but towards the end, her voice just grates on the nerves. Nonetheless, worthy of a listen.
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