At the all-night Tesco with Alice Grey
Hi, I’m Teri Woods, and I’m here to give you the inside scoop on the conditions of Tier 4. We still have water, electricity and chocolate gold coins, though reserves of the latter are beginning to run dry. It’s also my regret to inform you that in some locations, 4G signal is still just as bad as it always has been. But let’s not get caught up in the details. I’m here to bring you a special Christmas message from singer/songwriter Alice Grey, who isn’t necessarily here to lift your Christmas spirits, but rather help you consume them.
I wrote earlier in the year about Alice Grey’s venture into Lockdown Sounds, virtual open mic nights that still helped musicians have their voices heard in a time when we needed them most. And now, despite Alice Grey’s EP of original material coming out in the new year, she has put together a collection of Christmas songs that…reflect more where we’re at now. This EP is called ‘This Year’s For Me And You’, taken from a lyric of The Pogues’ ‘Fairytale Of New York’ and features that as well as three other festive covers. Though you can download the EP for free by naming your price via Alice Grey’s bandcamp page, you can instead purchase the EP with all proceeds going to Shelter, the homelessness charity.
This Year’s For Me And You begins with The Waitresses’ song ‘Christmas Wrapping’, which I previously never liked. However, there’s something soothing about this version and I’m happily a convert. A non-invasive drum machine soundtracks reverberated acoustic guitar and Grey’s double-tracked vocal with sparse harmonies. I noticed while listening that the lyrics have been pruned back a bit. At the tempo of this arrangement, I would say that was wise, but what’s great about this one is that it really allows you to absorb the meaning of the track. ‘Tonight I’ve set my mind to do fuck all about it’ is probably one of my favourite alterations, as well as dropping in a closer-to-home lyric about the all-night Tesco. Alice’s vocal is sung in such a way that I really believe in what she’s singing, which breaks my heart. This is further compounded by the music video, released on instagram this past weekend. Grey is preparing for a date. The hair, make-up, picking out a great dress, a little bit of wine, when the date cancels on her. He probably wasn’t worth the trouble anyway.
‘River’ is of course the classic track by Joni Mitchell. Here it begins with delayed acoustic guitar, which remains a staple throughout, steel strings clear and shiny. I’ve heard other vocalists cover this track, and it’s always interesting to see how a musician makes this one their own. Here, it fits right in on this EP with Grey’s voice full of reverb, and the occasional double-tracking, though overall it’s a much simpler production than Christmas Wrapping. What more does it need? The delayed guitar is much more interesting than a simple chord strumming sequence that we’ve all heard and Alice Grey’s backing vocals here are the most comforting sounds on this EP.
The acoustic guitar is swapped out for an electric in Grey’s cover of ‘Fairytale Of New York’, arguably the biggest track here amongst top tier Christmas songs. Alice Grey has rewritten it as a solo piece rather than a duet, the first time I’ve ever heard that done. The electric guitar is strummed, carrying the rhythm as well as the chords - there’s no piano in sight here either. I love Grey’s pacing in her vocal rhythm too, slowing it down and shunning the bounce of the original. Here I can really imagine Alice Grey performing this on stage, singing to the rooftops in a solo performance despite multiple guitar overdubs. My favourite part of this cover is how Alice layers her vocals at the end with the last verse and the chorus. Imagine getting a crowd to sing along with that? Swinging tankards of beer, stamping feet on wooden floors, strangers arm-in-arm – ‘and the bells were ringing out for Christmas Day…’
I hadn’t actually heard ‘If Winter Ends’ before, the original by Nebraska band Bright Eyes featuring Conor Oberst on vocals (stay tuned for the Q&A). Alice’s cover is probably the closest to the original out of any of these songs, though still slower, much in keeping with the EP’s more sombre tone. The acoustic guitar is close and full of detail, the cleanest it gets over these four tracks, and Grey’s vocal layers are brimming with personality. Once again this is a case of the track needing nothing more, all the emotion is reproduced in the lyrics, the perfect contender to finish this collection of songs.
Read on for a special Christmas Q&A with Alice Grey featuring the inside gossip about all things Christmas 2020. This hasn’t been the easiest year for anybody, but for what it’s worth, I want to thank you for reading Moths and Giraffes this year. If you shared an article, liked a post, or checked out any of the musicians I’ve written about, thank you.
But more importantly, thank you for wearing a mask, thank you for keeping your hands sanitised, thank you for social distancing, thank you for quarantining, for not throwing parties, for not endangering people. And if you’re struggling with your mental health this Christmas, know that you aren’t alone, even if you’re spending Christmas alone. Call that person you’re thinking about and tell them you love them, or you’re thinking of them, or missing them. If you go for a walk and you see a dog, you’re obliged to stroke it. Watch ‘Love, Actually’ and shout at Alan Rickman for being a bastard. Seriously how could you, Alan? You’re married to Emma Thompson!
But please, above all else, stay safe, wherever you are, and Have A Merry Christmas. x
1. Your new EP 'This Year's For Me And You' features covers of four Christmas songs. What inspired these choices? Were there any you left off?
Initially, the selection owed more to luck than judgement! I’ve got my Mum to thank for The Waitresses cover, which I’d heard before, but hadn’t considered for the EP.
I knew I wanted to cover Fairytale of New York because it’s such a classic, but also a real paradox of a song that is endlessly intriguing to me. It’s the song that everybody sings along to merrily each year but its brimming with misery and resentment from start to finish. It’s a horrible song, really visceral. You can interpret the end as romantic but, to me, they’re each bitter the other broke their dreams. I think this is even more pronounced with one vocal part, as it’s much more of a tirade and it has no resolution.
I covered River because I love the frankness of Joni Mitchell’s lyrics, generally but especially here. I love that she misses a man who made her ‘weak at the knees’, because it’s (mostly) about sex, and about how she messed the relationship up by being a brat (even though in my version, I turn that around). It has less depth in that way, but almost more for its candour.
2. What was the recording process like for this EP?
Unglamorous. I did it all in my single bedroom with leads trailing everywhere. I had a fairly clear idea of the ‘sound’ I wanted, and hope I achieved, which is fairly stripped, but sort of grunge-y in a way. I really love a slightly harsh double vocal, probably to excess, and a few really pronounced harmonies. To be honest it’s stripped as I’m not a sophisticated enough sound engineer to attempt anything more ambitious. ‘Stripped’ - a universally helpful euphemism for an amateur!
3. You were very selective of the lyrics you chose in 'Christmas Wrapping', was your own arrangement more personal to you?
It’s a torturously long song, so I felt it would benefit from being cut down anyway, especially given there’s so much less going on instrumentally in my version. But it was quite deliberate – I wanted to emphasise the parts of the story that centred on people’s unreliability, especially in a dating context, but also the apathy that leads to missed connections. I wanted the protagonist to end up on their own, because most of the time people do, and solitude is very much the zeitgeist. So there’s none of that cranberry stuff, just a very anticlimactic exchange outside Tesco.
4. And what about the video?
The narrative of the video pretty much mirrors that of the song, but situates it in 2020 rather than the 80s. It portrays somebody getting ready to go on a date and being cancelled on at the last minute, and has a sort of ‘silent movie’ feel with the narration on screen. I tried to capture the little moments of excitement and anxiety, in things like choosing a lipstick and sharing a selfie with a friend and getting a bit drunk beforehand. It’s got a darker edge to it as well, in the glimpses of self-deception and insecurity with the excuses she makes for her date before he’s even let her down, and the self-improving book she’s trying to read but gets bored of. It all gets a bit tragic when the date bails, with a lame excuse. She’s a facile character, but she’s quite sad as well. I pity her a bit. And I recognise her.
5. Most of 'River' is driven by your delayed guitar playing. Was that effect playing as you recorded it, or was it added afterwards?
That came first. I used that specific effect on another cover I did earlier in the year, of Thriller (by Michael Jackson.) It’s very simple but I think it’s quite cool in that it creates a lot of atmosphere in a recording, but also keeps it quite clean.
6. If you could choose anyone in the world to duet 'Fairytale Of New York' with, who would it be and why?
Someone who could bring the same clever barbarity to it. Maybe Conor Oberst, who I love. Imagine that. He’d do a brilliant job.
7. 'Tis the season of colder weather. What would you drink to stay warm?
Something very boring, like tea. I’m really into turmeric tea. Or hard spirits, from the bottle, until I pass out.
8. People love (and hate) Christmas for a variety of reasons, what are yours?
I’m lucky in that I’ve always had wholesome, happy Christmases with family to look forward to. Which you would never guess from my utterly depressing creative output. But the evidence will be in the music video I have coming out for ‘If Winter Ends’, which features me and my brother as little kids, having a whale of a time. I don’t think there’s anything I hate about Christmas. I love Christmas, and the rituals around it, but it can definitely be an oddly plaintive period too. I’ll definitely do a bit of sitting around and thinking dark thoughts next week.
9. Earlier in the year you curated your own open mic night online with Lockdown Sounds, what was your favourite part about exploring that concept?
I loved the camaraderie of Lockdown Sounds. I created the account the day the first lockdown was announced, and everybody rallied. There was a real spirit of ‘nope!’ among musicians and promoters and so on. I tried to rekindle it this time but I think the trench spirit has died a bit, even though I’d love to do more with it, as I got so many really interesting, talented people involved. I’m still chewing over how to bring it back in 2021.
10. You've got an EP of original material coming out in 2021, is there anything you can tell us about that?
It’s called ‘Adult Themes’, and is a five-track EP. Its title is a play on the definition used to describe films, books etc, which typically indicates sex, violence, drugs etc. The songs on this EP are about the themes of adulthood in a broader sense, encompassing the more mundane things like having to share a house, having to move back home, having to save money and trying not to drink too much. It’s pretty bleak, but I’m hoping it will resonate. My first single from it, ‘Anything Is Possible’, will be out early next year.
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Buy Alice Grey’s EP ‘This Year’s For Me And You’ via her bandcamp page to donate to Shelter.
Alternatively you can donate directly to Shelter, and find out more about their services here.
Follow Alice Grey across social media on facebook, instagram and twitter @alicegreymusic.
