SINGLE REVIEW: GINA LARNER - LIAR

The Country Calling line up is so rip roaringly good that at times tough decisions will be need to be made. One artist featuring high on the #TEAMw21 must see list is Gina Larner. Whether it be solo with some assistance via a laptop or with a cracking all girl band that were all but seismic at Long Road, Gina is an artist who gives everything on stage leaving nothing in the tank, and is always highly entertaining to see.

In case you are still not convinced, then check out "Liar" her new single , that showcases a slightly different sound but still displays her unique style of writing.

Gina had us hooked from the opening mix of acoustic and electric guitars, as well as inventive percussion that will be a feature throughout, on this sterling Tim Prottey-Jones production.

The lyrics paint a picture of someone not truly adjusted to a break up, curious enough to be diverted past their house, yet tortured by the possibility of what she might see.

"Grab my keys and grab my coat

I still take the long way home so there's a reason to walk down your road.

Looked the same two years ago

But now when I see your window, I pray to god there's no one home"

Gina has a natural warmth to her voice, she has a way of alighting on certain words and just transforming them, by elongating them in the most mellifluous of ways, "coat" & "ago" being the two examples from the above verse

No matter how it looks on the page there is nothing that quite prepares you for how Gina delivers the chorus, it's all but impossible to describe, just listen and savour at the phrasing. It is all undercut with some powerful percussion that seems to emphasise Gina's vocals further. It could be a calamitous mess instead it comes across as having been meticulously worked out.

"And I'm caught in the middle of

'Don't worry, just a little bit down'

And their rolling eyes with

'Aren't you over it by now?'

And if you say that you're fine,

I'll be your fire, I'll keep you alight

If you'll be my lie then I'll be your Liar

If you'll be my lie, then I'll be your Liar"

The drama of the chorus quickly subsides and we move back into a more introspective mood, seemingly haunted wondering what the person who replaced her is like, while not knowing if she even exists.

"Not looking back, not letting go

But I find myself still asking if you've ever found someone new

Obsessed with someone I don't know

Just because she's spending time with you"

The torture of wondering if the other person the same as you plays out in the final verse with Gina dreaming up scenarios over a lightly strumming guitar

"And I got good at being alone

But all I really wants you to hold me

Maybe call me, tell me you've been feeling so lonely

And all you really want is me

Do you take the long way home

Just so you can walk down my road"

The final chorus has Gina providing her own backing harmonies, before things come to a shuddering sudden halt. it's a cracking little single and should be a clincher if you still need convincing of where to be when Gina Larner hits what is currently known as The Second Stage at Country Calling.

Gina Larner will be appearing at Country Calling https://www.country-calling.com/