Torquay-bred, Melbourne-based muso Tess Guthrie has the type voice filled to the brim with raw emotion that will render you speechless, and with her songs and the stories she tells, she has been turning heads for what seems like an eternity.
Following the sort of song and speech hybrid about women in abusive relationships that went viral in 2018, and her sensational debut single ‘WUTO’ (Were You The One) back in March, Guthrie’s new track follows in the same vein and runs close to a faultless delivery.
The track, ‘Fairy Lights’, is a bold song filled with feminist fire, and is about taking power back after internalised victim-blaming. Within this striking alt-rock banger, Guthrie rejects those age-old assumptions that the blame belongs to women and non-binary folk when things happen, and reclaims power for survivors of gendered violence.
Taking cues from the early work of Arctic Monkeys, ‘Fairy Lights’ kicks off with a dusty guitar riff, a heavy drum and a sultry, slow-burning groove, which is soon punctuated by Guthrie’s unapologetic, potent voice and raw performance that leave an earthquake-like resonance. There are even moments of sparse guitar playing throughout, leaving a lot a room from her vocals to waft around and for her to use a lot of expressive technique, showcasing Guthrie’s elegance, artistry and maturity in songwriting as she challenges the attitudes and behaviours that perpetuate gendered abuse/violence across its full spectrum.
Produced by Tess Guthrie, All Our Friends Music and Alexander O’Gorman, who also mixed the track, and mastered by Adam Dempsey, ‘Fairy Lights’ is a triumphant response to a culture that attempts to deny women and non-binary people their voices and stories.
Guthrie states, “I’m so sick of seeing patriarchal attitudes and behaviours perpetuating and permitting violence and abuse across its full spectrum. It has been so normalised that survivors are made to believe that what has happened to them is their fault. It is never their fault. Fairy Lights is about that.”
Not only does this track stand as a bold and political lyrically, but it signifies a depth in Guthrie – a willingness to experiment, a refusal to be pigeonholed – that makes this release so much more satisfying. A powerful songwriter, with an even more powerful voice, Guthrie demands and commands your attention with this poignant and timely track, providing insight we can’t afford to ignore.
Fairy Lights is out on Spotify, AppleMusic and all your fav steaming platforms now. Check it out below.
If you like what you hear, Guthrie will be putting on a secret show in Torquay on November 16 to celebrate the release. You can sign up here to get sent a location in the days leading up to the event.
Photo by Tom Dunphy