Listening to Cawfee Drunk by Lovelyss is like listening to In Utero. That’s going to need some explaining. Despite the fact that there are some faint, and not so faint, similarities between Lovelyss’ music and Nirvana’s, Cawfee Drunk doesn’t sound like In Utero. Elyssa doesn’t have Kurt’s voice. The songs aren’t as hard or loud as the songs on In Utero. So what the hell am I rambling on about Cawfee Drunk is like In Utero?
When Nirvana’s With The Lights Out was released, I rushed out to get it. I knew it would be awesome - and I wasn’t disappointed. It was raw, real, unedited, and personal. Just Kurt and a guitar for much of the set. The minor mistakes didn’t bother me because they added to the character of the song. I loved the Lo-Fi feel. It was almost like having Kurt Cobain sitting in the room with me playing his songs.
Naturally after listening to the set in its entirety, I started to listen to In Utero. It’s my favorite Nirvana album. And it seems like the next logical step when wanting to listen to the progression of Nirvana albums. With The Lights Out was rough and raw and In Utero, especially when compared to Nevermind, is rough and raw. Not as rough or raw as With The Lights Out, but still it wasn’t nearly as processed as Nevermind and, to me, epitomized the Grunge sound of the 90s. It wasn’t a flashy album, it didn’t have the bells and whistles that Nevermind did. In fact, it wasn’t even praised as much as Nevermind was (which to this day simply boggles my mind to no end).
When I first discovered Lovelyss, I watched her YouTube videos. They were rough, raw, unedited, personal. Just Elyssa and her guitar. I loved the Lo-Fi feel. It was almost like having her sitting in the room with me playing her songs. I was immediately hooked. She was obviously more concerned with the music itself than anything else. No bells, no whistles, nothing flashy. And then she released Cawfee Drunk. It was certainly an album with much higher quality recordings than her YouTube videos, but the album still had that raw, Grungy, Lo-Fi sound and feel to it - just like In Utero.
While all the songs on Cawfee Drunk are great and fantastic in their own special way, my favorites were Str8 Up, Cera Nation, Life’s Punches, and 8bit. My favorite of those four, Str8 Up, has a Pop-Rock beat and feel to it that is quite addictive. Elyssa’s voice has a rather gritty, almost Punkish feel to it that fits the song (and album) perfectly. In fact, do you remember the episode of Friends when Phoebe had a cold and had her “sexy voice”? There is it. That’s how you can verbally define Elyssa’s voice.
One of my favorite things about Cawfee Drunk is that it’s basically just a girl, a guitar, and some drums. And aside from some echo/reverb on the vocals, this is a very stripped down and raw album which not only highlights the beauty and simplicity of each song, it also creates a vast amount of respect among the listeners for staying true to the music.
At times the album has kind of a trippy/psychedelic feel to it, specifically in the song Player 2, but also in varying degrees throughout the album’s entirety. Other times the album takes on more of a Pop feel with songs like Rag Doll. And even though there are some rather stark differences between songs on this album, Cawfee Drunk as a whole is a showcase of the many talents, brilliances, and sides of Lovelyss. Apparently she refuses to allow herself to be put into just one genre. And that is awesome. That is how music and musicians evolve.
Cawfee Drunk is awesome. Again, it’s more about the music, the words, the emotions and the ability to express them than anything else. That is why I love Lovelyss. That is why I love her music. Her music is the very essence of what music should be all about. I’m gushing, I know, but I tend to do that when I find something or someone I really admire.
I encourage everyone who has functioning ear_holes to listen to this album. If you are a fan of Grunge, of the 90s, of Lo-Fi, or just music in general, you are going to love Cawfee Drunk. Cawfee Drunk gets the MarsBands Seal of Approval!
