As someone who simultaneously has two time zones in their mind at a time, I am constantly up at all hours. We all know the Music Industry can be an experience steeped in all things “Up, down, turn around, please don’t let me hit the ground (New Order, Temptation, 1982)., kind of moment. Where passion and time wait for no one, where the soul feels an immediate pull to experience notes, melodies, and lyrics at any time. That being said, about 3 days ago, I was awake at 3:30am scrolling through Facebook, and right there on my feed was a post from Singer/Songwriter Pamela McNeill discussing her new EP Wave After Wave and the exquisite blue vinyl that was created specifically for this EP. I was curious, so right then and there I grabbed Wave After Wave on iTunes, and sat there under my blue floral comforter listening to all of the songs consecutively one right after the other. Before I continue, I should note the tracks in Wave After Wave are comprised of: Give Me Back My Love (Reimagined), Needle and Vinyl, Boys Lie, Hurricane, In My Next Life (Reimagined), and The Ocean. Actually, just do this click this link to listen to the EP on the digital platform of your choice while reading my review — you can thank me later.

As a poet the first thing that I look at when I review music is the structure of the lyrics as styles differ from artist to artist, I so genuinely appreciate that all of these songs sounded different from one to the next, and held true to the manner in which the lyrics were structured as well.

Give Back My Love

This song reminds me of the concept of being able to rewind a cassette tape and bring back something that had been taken away. It merges the tangible world of driving and a call to regain a love that was given now with a desire to be reclaimed, although lost forever. The frenetic energy at the beginning of the track paired with Pamela’s voice has within it, tenacity wrapped in a blanket of sweet sunshine. The lyric that hit me the hardest “it was obvious I’m not for you” literally breaks my soul in two, remarkable how much our lived memories can haunt us.

Needle and Vinyl

I never thought about the symbiotic relationship between a needle on a record player and the vinyl that is played on it. It is a very romantic notion to think of this on two levels, the connection between the needle and vinyl as they touch while a record is being played; and being with one that is so immensely adored in a space of intimacy and sensuality. This houses such a delightful auditory notion with notes that carry a melody of nostalgia. It truly is a thoughtless joy, not in the sense of carelessness, but more in the sense that one does not have to think about it, one can just feel and be lost in that emotion.

Boys Lie

This one, I could so relate to, a friend of mine who was going through such a rough breakup after being so in love with this man who completely made her feel as though she was nothing. The expression is so damn valid when it comes to relationships, the moment one thinks they are free it becomes a God Father “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in?” type of situation. And as Pamela illustrates in her lyrics “why do boys lie, why do they run, why do I still care when it’s all done?” The power behind all of these questions hits with the paired musicality in a way with the quick notes, a sense of urgency to understand why people act in a certain fashion and others react and allow pain. I especially relished the twist at the end in the lyric “Cause that’s how a girl lies.”

(Ok, so did you click the link and listen when I asked you to before I started to write this review? If not, why, go do it now. I’ll wait. A half an hour lapsed time, ok, I am now back with my Monster heavily caffeinated and hope you pressed play.)

Hurricane

You know how in life there are things that impact us so profoundly that it causes us to completely surrender and lay arms, it breaks us on the inside, and we start to overcome? That is how I feel listening to Hurricane, a call to action that simply turns into a dose of bad weather. It is quite poignant, how we are the only ones as Pamela says, “stand ready to defend my heart.” Hurricane to me sounds like a love song and a battle song, where one digs in their heels in the terra firma composed of nothing but expression and fondness.

In My Next Life (Reimagined)

I LOVE this song so much. The melody and the way Pamela sings it is so immensely tender, and then on the other side, the lyrics hit one right in the face. I can genuinely relate to this, it is funny, sometimes I wonder if individuals who are written about in songs or poems, know if a song is about them, and the amount of hurt they have caused. And then realise they may not know the song was written about them; however, the body of everything inside the song knows and understands the manner in which a composition has been created caused by one cruel and careless human.

The Ocean

There is something beyond tranquil about allowing waves to wash over you after something painful has occurred. In this instance, the ocean has been given the identity of a best friend who will never betray the secrets brought forth by one’s soul. The Ocean, to me, is a song about the emancipation of one’s spirit, trapped by the pain caused by others. It is hard at times to completely let go after trauma, to have that release affords an ethereal moment of freedom.

As you can tell from my review, I really relished Wave After Wave by Pamela McNeill, it was truly a combination of the carefully crafted lyrics, paired with the rhythms of each song that offered a journey into the concept of understanding and allowing one to be a strong and fortified human being post pain.