WashingtonOn her sometimes gloriously candid Twitter stream, Megan Washington has pronounced her big love for classic ‘80s faux-epic, Vienna. But while There There occasionally has some of that era’s synth squelches, a better descriptor might be another Ultravox tune – Dancing With Tears In My Eyes. For instance: while Limitless comes with a jaunty insistence, it then hits you with the gut-punch line: “There’s a certain kind of lonely when you sleep in your jeans”. And that’s what hooks you.
There There is kind of Washington’s first album-proper. I Believe You Liar, and its darker afterthought, Insomnia, were more bursts of songs stitched together. This has her settling (mostly) in London, and well-challenged by producer/collaborator Sam Dixon, reflecting on what she’s maybe been running from – or towards. Some of the titles are self-explanatory: Who Are You, Get Happy, Begin Again. It’s not quite music as relationship therapy, but she articulates the experiences of many – and delivers them with her beautifully so-human voice.
It’s not as self-absorbed as it might be. Marry Me sees the weaknesses and reasons for the sides to realise it was never going to work – albeit in hindsight – while The Falling rightly informs a romantic misstep they’ve invested too much. Honest, sure – but it still cuts both ways. She appears to reveal so much, without the mawkishness that could happen with a lesser artist. And as luminous as parts of this are, you still feel the best of Megan Washington is yet to come.
