Katie Gregson-MacLeod – Songs Written for Piano Review

Piano ballads with touching vocal numbers are in no short supply, but what does lack for this genre is memorable quality. Thankfully, Katie Gregson-MacLeod has struck through with five wonderful, delicate tracks on her latest EP, Songs Written for Piano. Genuinely striking work. Sincere as well as well-made. That should be more than enough for any artist, but the quality assured by Gregson-MacLeod’s wonderful writings and keystroke creativity gives a real, emotive presence to these five tracks. Clear from this collection is that Gregson-MacLeod has a tremendous voice, a slate of intense and intimate ideas, and the creativity needed to branch off from the overstuffed path that sees folk-like, chamber-pop sentimentalities drift over the piano-led punchiness of Songs Written for Piano.

It is a second listen through to Songs Written for Piano that unlocks some key, incredulous moments. Opening track I’m Worried It Will Always Be You is a touching piece that understands the pace and form needed for a quality piano ballad. Those singer-songwriter structures benefit Gregson-MacLeod to no end, and marks an EP that has already broken through with massive appeal. Still, it is not too late to catch up, not too far off the mark from pretending to be cool after “discovering” another quality artist. Reflective momentum is what carries Songs Written for Piano, which feels as truthful and well-formed as can be expected for a collection of tracks this good. That is the key to the best of these well-penned tracks. Honesty at the core of them, reflection and experience rattled through with instrumentals worthy of the time and ears.

Sombre sentimentalities approach the qualities found throughout this memory-clad EP. These are intimate occasions, pushing through with a charm like no other. That charm has an inherited humour to it too, beyond those strikingly brilliant moments. White Lies is an incredible occasion, while EP closer Complex showcases the intense value of Gregson-MacLeod’s lyrics. Sobering moments, that line between carelessness and careful states of being. They are struck up with an expressed and clear desire to not just confirm feelings of doubt, but to figure out the good life. Either that, or listeners are suckers for strings. Who isn’t? Complex has a beautiful core to it with those lyrics, and the string sections that pair with the live version are delightful. A perfect closer.

Plucky characteristics can be levelled at To Be Eighteen, a beautiful piano ballad. There are only so many times “beautiful piano ballad” can be said before scrabbling around for synonyms. Gregson-MacLeod has the potential to be the next big thing. That is not said lightly. It is said with the understanding of how powerful a voice is on display throughout this EP, how articulate the lyrical charms are – and just how relatable they are too. Phoebe Bridgers enjoyed much success for similar volumes, trading pianos for acoustics and Scottish roots for Haley Dahl collaborations. It is hard not to clamour for more, immediately, but that is just greedy. Two EPs to her name and already bounding through, an inevitable album hopefully, surely, on the horizon, that can represent these ballad-like bits of brilliance even more than the quality of Songs Written for Piano.