Scots songstress Megan Black’s star continues to rise and her latest album, set to drop on 1st April, will only serve to enhance her reputation as one of the finest young singer-songwriters working in Britain today.
Characterised by bluesy, 70’s-inspired riffs, together with lyrics that manage to explore the concepts of female empowerment and sexual identity without becoming tiresomely self-indulgent, Deadly is the Woman kicks off with the deliciously ironic Sweet Bisexual, a two-and-a-half minute challenge to the lazy assumptions which bisexual people have to put up with every day of their lives.
Elsewhere on the album, Black takes a long, hard look at mental health in The Wooden Woman and the brilliantly psychedelia-tinged The Subtleties of Sadness, while conventional notions of gender are upended in the über-bluesy Does That Make Me Eve?
The fourth single from the album, What Else Am I Good For?, with an opening bass riff which reminded me of The Jam classic Start, gives a raw insight into Black’s own insecurities, with the artist herself commenting, “What Else Am I Good For is all about my self-destructive patterns and how they cycle over and over again.
“The song is all about having low self-worth and how I navigate the world when the only thing going for me is being able to sing. I wanted the song to be very upbeat and funky to create a sarcastic juxtaposition between the feel of the song and the overall message.”
Deadly is the Woman swings seamlessly between the cheery and the contemplative, demonstrating not only Black’s coming of age as a serious songwriter, but also her raw honesty and insight. Highly recommended.
Deadly is the Woman is out on vinyl, CD, download and streaming platforms from 1st April. Pre-order here.
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FROM THE VAULTS! Watch Rob Harkavy’s August 2021 interview with Megan here.
