Alluring songstress Fay Lamour teams up with indie rockers Safety First! for a compelling collaboration, weighted in visceral contemplation on life as we wish it was. “Chicken on the Table” brings a raw, minimalist indie sound to the fore, crooning and considered and wonderfully refreshing.
A singular acoustic guitar line, rhythmic and percussive, kicks things off before electronic guitar and keys flesh things out and propel the track forward. Fay Lamour and Safety First!’s frontman Dylan Retief blend artfully balanced vocalism as they wax lyrical on the perfect life, only for it to be shattered by the cold, hard lens of reality.
“Everything is stable/ there is no wobble here/ just a humble study table/ and the group of steady chairs,” they intone. It conjures the sort of simple and fulfilling life I think we’d all like to have, constantly upset by the enigmatic nature of the world. And really, it’s the compelling lyrics which truly drive this track, coupled with the lilting melody which is as comforting as it is considered.
The video, produced by Hidden Track Sessions, sees the gang huddled around a cozy dining room table. A live hen pecks around a pair of roast chickens as an example of the glaring contradictions of life, guitars are strummed, Black Label sipped, Fay is wild haired and passionate, Retief is brooding.
It’s a fascinating, multi-layered offering. The sort which begs you to listen, and listen again.
Feature pic supplied by artist
