Eagerly-awaited debut album from Nashville singer, songwriter, poet & visual artist Winston Liv.  Reflective folk, playful pop melodies and country twang meet a whole lot of attitude and determination to make Joan of Snark a rewarding listening experience.

SONGS FROM SCHOOL

We’ve been waiting for this one.  For the past month or two, Nashville singer, songwriter, poet and visual artist Winston Liv has been serving notice of what they’ve had in store with their debut album, Joan Of Snark.  Singles: Muse, Sugar Baby and Werewolf, have all offered strong hints that something special was fermenting down in Nashville… Something that bestrode genre boundaries to combine reflective folk, playful pop, country twang and more and laced them with a strong dose of immovable attitude.

Joan Of Snark is here now – and it doesn’t disappoint.

Winston Liv has been singing for just about as long as they can remember and their songwriting has been going on for almost as long.  Their songwriting journey began, in fact, when Winston was in the 7^th grade at their middle school when they wrote their first fragments of poetry.  The passion for songwriting grew as they moved on to high school and several of the songs on Joan Of Snark date back to those days.

COMING OF AGE

Winston describes Joan Of Snark as: “…an album with a ‘coming of age’ theme.”  It’s a collection of songs that express yearning for autonomy, obsessive first love and insecurity in oneself that all come together to tell the universal story of growing up.  “It’s about growing up and simultaneously thinking you’re destined for greatness and also thinking you’re worthless,” explains Winston.  “It’s about noticing things that aren’t right and being told you don’t know what you’re talking about, because you’re a kid.  Growing up is going from one extreme to the next regarding your thoughts and feelings.  You begin to lose your faith in a lot of things, all whilst wanting to hold on to it because it’s all you’ve ever known.”

We’ve already had a taste of lead single, Muse, the track that opens Joan Of Snark and I can confirm, straight away, that it’s a song that grows with each successive listen.  The sound is crystal clear – and so is Winston’s voice.  And the tune is bright, poppy and punchy and the soft, subtle backing vocals provide their first example of what proves to be an outstanding feature of the whole album.

SCHOOLDAYS

Muse is one of the songs that came about during Winston’s schooldays – as an assignment in a songwriting class.  Winston takes up the story: “I changed schools in the 7^th grade and there was someone in my science class that I was immediately drawn to.  From that day forward, I had a crush on them up until high school graduation.  I would draw them in my sketchbook, doodle them on my class notes and write poetry about them.  Thinking about it now, I just see a kid with a crush who was finding outlets for these big feelings they were having.”

AS SMOOTH AS WHIPPED CREAM

“Yeah, yeah,” declares Winston as they launch into Like Like, a song of ”Messy, infectious love.”  It’s another enjoyable, poppy number, driven along by a light sprinkling of guitars and piano, with the occasional crash of power chords thrown in for good measure.  The variety on offer on Joan Of Snark is emphasized by the folky Origami Crane – one of several particular highlights.  Pared-back acoustic guitar allows Winston’s chorister-quality vocals maximum exposure and the effect is stunning.  There’s also a strong sense of intimacy, even though the song canters along at a satisfyingly fast pace.

The darker side of Winston’s character surfaces for the sleazy, soulful Valedictorian particularly as they deliver their opening salvo: “She hates my guts.  Not worth her time.  What’s a pure-bred to a mutt?”  The dark tone is reflected in the sound of the guitars, but there’s also a slickness about the whole thing, too, especially when the solos break out.

And it’s a strident, clangy guitar sound that launches Sugar Baby, the second of the three singles that previewed the album.  The song is rocky in a softly endearing kind of way and Winston’s lyrics are part-pleading, part-threatening.  Guitars blend nicely as bass and drums lay down a solid foundation and Winston’s vocals are as smooth as whipped cream.

WEREWOLF: FREEDOM

There’s more schoolday recollections with Crush And Burn, a piano ballad with a solid, ponderous rhythm.  Loneliness and isolation are the themes of Winston’s lyrics and the emotions are palpable as they sing lines like: “This is love of a different kind; this is love that is lost, lost in time – and I couldn’t do that to you.”  It’s another album highlight.

Guitars sparkle against a solid, no-nonsense rhythm and keyboards pulse and sizzle as Winston pours out the spiteful, observational lyrics to Mr Montague, another of the album’s more soulful tunes.  Third and most recent single, Werewolf, was written especially for Joan Of Snark.  I’ve previously described the song as: “…an irresistible slice of country-pop, awash with strummed guitars, piano and banjo,” and it’s another song that improves as it matures.

Inspiration for Werewolf arrived after Winston had completed their animated senior thesis film, Gévaudan.  Winston challenges the commonly-held perception that werewolves are scary, ugly or predatory and, instead, tries to relate to them as creatures that represent freedom and the ability to become one’s true self.  “While I was writing this song,” says Winston, “I was thinking about gender identity; I wanted to write a reassuring anthem that I and others could sing along to whenever we’re viewed as someone we’re not.”

A SUMMARY MESSAGE

Winston’s soft, sweet vocals sit in marked contrast to the resonant chimes of electric guitar that propel Clouds Of Violet along.  The backing vocals are almost organic – they fit the song so very well – and the flowing guitar solo puts in mind of Mark Knopfler.  But we travel back to the 1980s for the danceable, pulsing Time Machine.  Synths swirl, guitars soar and the interaction between the lead and backing vocals is, once again, seamless. 

Then – to the opposite extreme, as fingerpicked acoustic guitar and light percussion provide the backing to the folky Familiar.  Splashes of slide guitar add a country flavour that’s the perfect fit for Winston’s nostalgic lyrics: “Whatever happened to that secret place where you and me, as kids, we used to play?”

And, to round things off – how about a chunk of bright, bombastic rock?  Guitars, keyboards and drums pump out their wall of sound but, even here, Winston doesn’t lose vocal control – although the bursts of rap come close.  The song is a compulsive foot-tapper and it delivers a message that sums up Joan Of Snark and Winston Liv: This is a versatile, capable, passionate and determined character that’s just entered our lives…

Watch the official video to Werewolf – the most recent single to be taken from Joan of Snark – below:

Winston Liv: Website

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