I was asked to review Tori Reed's album Long Nights, Flightless Birds & Coming Home with knowing nothing about the artist or her music. I am so glad I was given the opportunity to sit down and listen to what I consider to be a very talented and experimental artist with a great work of music. From Reed’s album I have chosen to talk about my three favourites songs.

Deep Fried Gadgets is the first track on the album. The title in itself is not your usual header for a song and when I first listened to it I was quite puzzled. I think anyone would be if the opening lyrics went like this; ‘We can deep fry anything, I saw it on TV, Put a laptop in a deep fryer, And serve it with ice cream’. However, after listening to the song a couple more times I found out the song is about finding yourself and being confident in who you are. Forget about all the superficial things that technology has taught us and love you for who you are. A fantastic message if you ask me. This song is beautifully constructed with up tempo parts including trumpets to soft and light, show casing Reed’s control over her voice.

Second is Injuries. For anyone who has experienced a broken heart, this song will speak volumes. She nails everything about a broken relationship in six minutes and forty eight seconds. The story in the song is about a women in denial of missing her love. Stunning lyrics with a beautiful instrumental.

Lastly, is I Had A Ghost. A song that instantly had me sitting a bit straighter in my chair and listening more attentively, due to a variety of things. One, Reed sings unaccompanied in the first half. Two, there is a gap of silence for 63 seconds in the middle of the song. And three, in the second half of the song the piano is bought in with no other accompaniment or singing. It was a deconstruction of a song, put into its three main components, voice, silence and instruments to create a beautifully sad and sombre song about people feeling invisible.

I adore Tori’s voice. You can hear the emotion so clearly that at some points I got a bit teary. I feel her music could be out into a soundtrack of a musical due to how expressive they are. She has composed songs that, for me, made me picture scenarios, visualising characters and story lines for them. And if an artist can do that well, for not just one song, but a whole album, they need to be congratulated and be given a hug by me, because this is the kind of music the industry is lacking in.

• 1
  Head Like A Hole
• 2
  Horror Story
• 3
  Fraser Ross
• 4
  Fur Patrol
• 5
  Michelle Rounds
• 6
  L.A.B.
• 7
  Devilskin
• 8
  Coridian
• 9
  The Boondocks
• 10
  Late to Chelsea

• 
  LOST BiRD @ Space Academy, Christchurch - 15/12/2024
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• 
  Dream Chambers @ Meow Nui, Wellington - 14/12/2024
• 
  The Phoenix Foundation @ Meow Nui, Wellington - 14/12/2024

• 1
  APT.
  ROSÉ And Bruno Mars
• 2
  DIE WITH A SMILE
  Lady Gaga And Bruno Mars
• 3
  BIRDS OF A FEATHER
  Billie Eilish
• 4
  TASTE
  Sabrina Carpenter
• 5
  I LOVE YOU, I'M SORRY
  Gracie Abrams
• 6
  ESPRESSO
  Sabrina Carpenter
• 7
  SAILOR SONG
  Gigi Perez
• 8
  LOSE CONTROL
  Teddy Swims
• 9
  A BAR SONG (TIPSY)
  Shaboozey
• 10
  GOOD LUCK, BABE!
  Chappell Roan

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