Katie MF – False Starts, Open Endings

When does Punk become Folk or Folk become Punk, easy answer, when Katie MF writes and records her crazily good take on both, an energy that comes not bottled up, but fully overflowing into your ears and heart when you listen is something that can only come from an artist that know what they want and leave no stone unturned to give it their all.

I’ll say this only once and then lets move on to what is a stand alone album, after listening to just the first few lines, the name Frank Turner popped right into my head, its no surprise then that this Katie has played on the same stage as the man himself, the sound and style is in kin with what he does and has done over the years, but with a style that is most definitely individual, other names that could be thrown in are Sally Pepper or Jess Silk, but don’t be fooled into thinking your getting something that isn’t original, because this debut album is far from being just another slice of angry posturing.

As the first verse of ‘Lucky MF’ kicked in, I found myself feeling a little Unthanked (check them out), but this was fully wiped from the face of the earth when the angst kicked in, being a song about surviving a near death experience you might have expected a melancholy lament, but no, this is more of a “Fuck! I’m still alive, so I’ll tell you how lucky I am and how I’m not gonna waste this chance to carry on being!”.  

An album that is filled with so much life is what unfolds from this moment on, songs that have life lived in every word is what your getting here, if you are either of an age that has lived long or are of the younger listener bracket, is a breadth of issues covered, as well as an artist giving their opinion on the world around them, this can be either like in ‘Work Drinks’ which rang so perfectly with my own experiences in that work bully/misogynistic mentality that, yes does still exist in the work place and needs stamping on at every opportunity, then there’s ‘Clusterfuck’ (which by the way has a killer rock riff) that sits front and centre in the minds of the young and old alike, a government that just car crashes through life and people lives. 

This is an album that quite simply takes what Punk should be, a rebellion against what’s wrong, a reflection on the world we all navigate through with as much sensitivity as possible, a gritty no punches held back fest of truth. The Folk side is, well, actually exactly the same thing, and that’s something so many somehow miss when it comes to the two genres, this is not lost on Katie though.

I could go on forever about what a sonic boom of an album this is, but really you need to just go buy it and listen to songs like ‘Seventeen’ that remembers the brashness/naivety of youth with sublime insight, ‘All At Sea’ a stunningly cruel but true insight into not underestimating anyone (especially me!), then ending with the brutal ‘Set It Alight’ where depression, guilt and self loathing are laid bare, but with an uplifting that somehow oozes out of the angst, a fighting back song.

Be it the snarly guitar or the vocal assault that stands up above the parapet, this album is more than just an angry soul hitting back at social wrongs, or a collection of laments about life, its a place to go when you need to hear something other than a love story or a scream at political strife, its a house of life and reality bites.

Released on Sept 15th via Lockjaw Records

Head on over to Katie’s FACEBOOK OR INSTAGRAM for much more music and info.