Filled with grace, charm, sharp lyrics and killer, heartbreaking melancholy, these beautiful songs by the American artist were inspired Girl, Interrupted, the 1993 memoir by Susanna Kaysen about experiences in a 1960s psychiatric hospital. The book became an Oscar-winning film, and before Covid-19, Mann was asked to write songs for a theatrical version of the book, but due to lockdown her compositions morphed into this album, working again with with longtime producer Paul Bryan, including past album, Mental Illness. There’s a sense of play-like time progression during the album from opener You Fall to the final, 15th song I See You, and wrestling with depression and suicidal thoughts often bubble to the surface. Piano and light orchestral string backing make up the musical style, Mann’s clear and beautiful voice delivering lyrics with perfect weight and emotional depth. Standouts include You Fall (“I know what you think / This happens to other girls / You stand at the sink / You pin up your hair in curls”), Robert Lowell and Sylvia Plath (“It's nice if you ignore the aftermath /On your right: the verse, the rhyme /On the left: a ghoulish pantomime”), Give Me Fifteen (“In the time it takes to walk around the block / I can have you scheduled for electroshock”), as well as At The Frick Museum, and the very cutting, heartbreakingly dark-humoured Suicide Is Murder (Motive's a must / Shame and self-loathing a plus / Tickets for under the bus.” Exquisitely dark. Out on SuperEgo Records.
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