Pop folk can be a strange beast. Taken as warm muzak by unscrupulous bar patrons/café owners (know a couple of them back in México), sometimes relegated to the “first kiss/hug” scene from a film/show and the rest of the time tagged as safe music.

Half right on that account. You can sound safe and friendly, but you can always carry a little poison on that quill (or ricin if you’re from the KGB) and hide a couple of well deserved gigs under the guise of a pop melody.

Chelsea Alice Scott‘s Lucky girl is not quite as deadly as ricin. Let’s take it as a small dose of hemlock with some slice of life stuff in it. A sort of confessional, about those little quirks in life. Valleys and crests, ups and downs. The happy-go-lucky (‘Lucky girl’) and the uglier bits (‘Mannequin’).

It’s a strange beast, as it seems the mood goes progressively sadder as the running time advances. Sort of like Training Day, where as the day collapses into the inhospitable Los Angeles concrete jungle, so does Lucky Girl. ‘It’s not over’, with it’s welcoming electronic atmospheres and poppy sounds is like an affirmation, that final push you make to yourself. Wistful. ‘Lucky girl’ could work in two ways: a celebration of being on a good mood (without coming off as smug) or an ironic realisation that one has been a little too naïve. It depends on your mood (I’m veering for the latter but I’m on one of those pessimistic streaks).

‘Mannequin’…it might be overanalysing but sounds about having one of those self-confidence-doubting moments, when the voices from the outside surround you like a lynch mob and you need a voice to get you back on track. “You’re not alone”, a voice to the rescue, a call to arms. Soldier on, with chin quite up (watch the neck, though) and upwards an onwards. Love the outro.

‘Raindrops’ is the thoughtful, morose ending. Like I said, it goes in reverse (Memento!), from happy to gloomy, from happy scales and reverse echoes/tape delays to arpeggios and pianos waltzing in the moonlight. It’s a bit of a sad note, but, hey, now is the winter of our discontent…

Enough rambling. Lucky girl, four tracks that don’t break the mould and that’s fine, the mould was broken by the people playing the Delta Blues and we all have been playing with the pieces ever since. Four thoughtful tracks with heart well worn in the sleeves. And sometimes, that’s all it needs.

 

Chelsea Alice Scott Website. Facebook. Soundcloud. Twitter.