SINGLE REVIEW: KATY HURT - BEFORE THE ICE MELTS - RATHER BE

Few songs can possibly have had the tangled journey of "Before The Ice Melts", - #TEAMW21 remember hassling Katy Hurt about it while queueing to see Midland at Omeara -and that was 2018 so it was probably around a good while before that. Other singles have come and gone and although it has regularly been a part of Katy's live set, the recorded version seemed ever elusive. At times it seemed more likely that the polar ice caps would melt before it would get released - until now!

Now of course having been its most fervent supporter for all those years it would be terrible to report that the recorded version did not live up to #TEAMw21's memories of it, however the moment the Petty inspired introduction kicks in you just know that it is going to deliver.

The other thing about only hearing a song live and at volume is that the lyrics are past you in a flash - they are now finally revealed in all their glory - and what a glory it is.

The opening verse is not your typical song, there's a mixture of emotions going on and Katy does a great job of presenting her conflicted emotions Like the cartoon character with good and evil whispering in either ear, the good part knows that this is a mistake while the bad part lives for that initial frisson, reminiscing about the original meeting in New York.

"I turn the key and back out of the drive

I know full well I should still be inside

I don’t know what hold you have over me

But here I am again on my way to where we

First met in a bar on Bleecker Street

Don’t worry baby I saved you a seat

I’ll be the blonde at the bar

That you used to stare at

I hate that I am that

Trying to draw you back in"

Katy's phrasing is deliciously awkward, nothing quite lands where you instinctively think it should and lines blur into each other - it therefore demands and deserves your attention.

The lead in to the chorus gives us a little more background as to why there is a little reticence in relighting this particular fire - it has been lit many times before.

"Cause we fight

We make up

We make love

We break up and do it over

Do it over"

When it comes the chorus does not disappoint lyrically or musically, the guitars and backing vocals appear as Katy once more is in conflict with herself. Highlights are the way she scolds herself about last time being the last time, the memories of previous encounters proving to be a powerful aphrodisiac and of course the curious urgency of the time limit, ramping up the temperature!

"I can’t believe that I’m back in this situation

Waiting, waiting for you

I tell myself this is thе last time

But last time, I said the vеry same thing too

With every sip I recall

How your touch felt

So get here soon and hurry fast

Before the ice melts"

The second verse if anything slightly muddies things around Katy's motivations

"This time around there’s no catch 22

I just want your arms around me

Yeah I just want you

For one more night before I come to my senses

I won’t tell nobody

Cause my friends are against it

They know when it comes to you I easily stray

You’re like a song that's been stuck there on replay

And I promise I won't let my emotions get tangled

I don’t wanna keep you

I don’t have no angle"

The final trip to the chorus adds on an additional section which leaves on something of a cliffhanger - with the order of that additional trick - is the other person going to come at all?

"I order one more

Cause I'm under your spell

So get here soon and hurry fast

Before the ice melts"

Just like real life it is complicated things are left hanging, there's no resolution any second someone may or may not come, and in the long run would that be good or bad?

Filled with wonderful little guitar flourishes and with Katy's vocals in excellent form this was well worth the wait.

The preceding single "Rather Be", is Katy in full Americana country mode. It's rootsy, sassy and packed with the lines that we'd love to say if we realised that we were with the wrong person and all filters were off and mighty liberating it seems to!

"You call me princess

You call me girl

You say I’m lucky to be living in your big ol’ big man world

You call me blondie and cutie pie… ew

But every time I hear those words

a little piece of me dies inside"

The spectre of Lainey Wilson does hang a little over the track but that is no bad thing. and Katy more than makes this her own with her phrasing and delivery.

If the first verse was expressing annoyance the second is brutal

"You think I’m a trophy

You sure like to show me off

and I just can’t wait for you to ask me to tie the knot. not

I was looking for cupid but now I’m with stupid

And like your current waist size and your high school Levi’s

Man we just ain’t suited!"

All of these encompass a chorus which is joyful in it's certainty

"I’d rather be a bitch, wake up in a ditch

I’d rather be drowning at the bottom of a bottle of Everclear

Somebody get me the hell outta here

Yeah I'd rather be poor sleep on the floor

But one thing of which I’m sure

I’d rather not be

Oh I’d really rather not be

Yours!"

The final visit sees Katy ramp up the volume in impressive style

It all paves the way for the highly anticipated album "Gimme A Break"

Tour Dates Can Be Found At https://www.katyhurt.com/tour

The London album release show has been postponed new date TBA