Megan Landry: Stills

It’s easy to imagine the studio as a playground, and Megan skipping around it in wide-eyed wonder.

Carl Jung said “The creative mind plays with what it loves.” That is certainly the feeling you get when listening to Megan Landry’s first full album, Stills. There is a freshness, a reckless energy that still manages to be incredibly polished and mindful of every inch of aural space.

I first discovered her when I came across the Wallpaper music video purely by coincidence, and since then have enjoyed each and every release that led up to this album.

So without further ado…

My Chronologically Ordered Top 7 Moments of Stills1) Cut to it (1:14) “You can wipe off the barcode” Lil Wayne is known for his incredible, though often over-the top, wordplay. Obviously he and Megan Landry fall on very different ends of the spectrum, but the frequency with which I was caught off guard by lyrics was reminiscent of my first listens to his albums.

2) Pieces (0:57) Throughout the album, Miss Landry blurs the line between instruments and vocals, creating ambience with odd combinations of both. The layering of electric guitar over her vocals as she sings “I gave you” not only creates an “oldies” feel, but accents and draws out the melodic line more than either could have done alone.

3) Pieces (1:38)  Best I can call it is lyrical sleight of hand, misdirection if I may.  I am fully aware that I may just be completely reading into it, but this is probably my favorite moment on the album, whether it was intentional or not.

4) Human Leather (3:02-end)  In a song that already places the yin and yang of piano and electric guitar against each other, the bridge pits the two opposing forces in a beautiful slow dance.

5) Reservations (0:50) To accent the already unsettling, sing-songy feel of this weirdly catchy carnivalesque tune, Meghan is joined by a deeper, darker voice.  In a tune that already sounds like it comes from a haunted fun house, this likely deranged addition does much more than fill out the bass.

6) Four Months (1:00) “I take my coffee black for a reason”  This song, like pretty much every other one on the album, amazes me that is it so short (few tracks top 3 minutes), and yet pack in so much poetry, insight and musical ideas.  The lyrics of this song alone hold more weight, wit and style than you could pick out from hours of Top 40 radio.

7) Marathon (0:48) This song could be a B-side track from the Kill Bill Soundtrack.  As far as apocalyptic romance goes, this poem wraps it up beautifully, ending with the vow that “My blood is running marathons for you”

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As far as impressive resumes go, ten seconds on Megan Landry’s Reverb Nation page will have your ears ringing from your jaw hitting the floor.  In an artist and album that specialize in shades of grey, it is best to let her summarize why you should pick up Stills for yourself.

“The instruments paint the emotions and the lyrics paint the story.”

Connect with Megan Landry through any of her social media links below, and find her music on iTunes.