Intimate and haunting debut about grief – 9/10
Ilana Zsigmond’s debut album as St. Catherine’s Little one is a robust reflection on grief, chronicling the sickness and subsequent loss of life of her beloved father. The primary half covers his analysis and the interval main as much as his loss of life, whereas the second delves into the rawness of grief.
For an album born in such unhappiness, This Might Affect You is splendidly life-affirming, as Zsigmond opens herself up fully. Often, it may be akin to peeking into somebody’s diary, as on the heart-breaking ‘I Perceive’ or the string-drenched ‘I Guess That’s Why Dying Will Do’.
On ‘Depart A Gentle On’, she particulars her father’s unwillingness to let go, whereas the devastating ‘I’m Not Prepared But’ recounts her incapacity to maneuver on from his passing.
Lyrically, it’s unimaginable. The picture of her dad hauling his oxygen tank upstairs in ‘The Different Facet Of Twenty 5’ is unforgettable, as she realises, “This is the final time he’ll deal with you.” The shimmering unhappiness of ‘Damaging House’ sees her admit, “I’m terrified the grief will make me boring, ‘cos no-one actually likes it whenever you cry / It occurs rather more typically once I’m ingesting, and wailing on the get together kills the vibe.”
The title-track is a full-on rocker, whereas ‘New Eden’ explores the dichotomy of assembly her accomplice whereas her father was solely months from dying, as she admits, “It’s a reasonably fucked up time to fall in love”.
Heartbreakingly, achingly magnificent, that is the sound of a considerable new expertise, who joins the ranks of Julia Jacklin and Phoebe Bridgers within the songwriting vanguard.
