'shy-CITY,' VOL.1: pyramid
'shy-city,' Vol. 1: pyramid is a soulful, edgy exploration of modern femininity and complex relationships with a musical lens of classic rhythm and blues and rock. Released in February of 2016 as the first volume in a planned trilogy, "pyramid" wastes no time with pleasantries but dives right into the struggle of personal and political angst agents of the modern world exist with. Pamela Maurer, backed by Chicago alternative rock outfit The Bribes, delivers her songs with well constructed arrangements while never undermining the honesty and intimate themes explored in her lyrics.
Oh Boy! opens the album with a subject caught in the midst of warring feelings for another individual she both desires and is
in some ways turned off by. Early on she brings up the trivial issue of the other's hair, only to hint at the underlying source of contention, that the two don't talk about certain things. At times her thoughts cut off, overwhelmed by the emotional tug-o-war of being in love and worn out by the same individual. Sonically, the song beautifully blends Maurer's heated lyrics over the Bribes' solid rhythm section, with various members providing harmonies on the chorus. The beauty and simplicity of the song arrangement sits in direct contrast to the stark nakedness of the lyrics, allowing for Maurer's gritty vocals to carry even more of an edgy tone to them. Is the source of this internal struggle doing it intentionally? Or are the dual feelings of continuing the relationship and escaping it mutual? The song hints in the last verse that the latter might be so, as Maurer sings "I know you want some peace and quiet, I'd like to try it with you." But the thought is again broken before it can be put into words and the emotional chorus again cries about how the subject's desirable and draining nature has left her lost in knowing what she wants.
The dual expectations of life leave the personal conversation for the political one in the next song "Do You Want My Love Or Do You Want My Money (Slow Down Low Down). With a guitar lick and rhythm inspired by the Howlin' Wolf number "Smokestack Lightning," the piece opens with Maurer asking the listener to look in the mirror and confront their reasons for living the way they do. A chorus of voices joins her after each question, telling you and I to slow down and look at where we are. The song builds to a second chorus calling out the danger of taking life too serious and not enjoying what one can out of life. Ultimately, the lyrics cycle back to where they started, the same questions up for discussion and calls for self-examination, and it's up for the individual to decide if she's living for something more than just surviving as a number within the system.
"I'm Sorry For You" delves further into the individual's fragile relationship with her country and her faith in what it represents. Worn out by the tragedies and shameful events that unfold on a daily basis and the hypocrisy of those who offer solutions, Maurer offers a ray of hope in the notion that the pain endured is only in vain if those who witness it remain silent. While parental figures encourage their children to embrace the American dream and ideals of success like one would a spouse, the subject rebels against this ideology, quipping that she "can't stand for flowers I'm sorry for you." She will not buy into the bouquet, a symbol of traditional marriage and in this case, the female's role in society. A line later she comments on the weariness caused by the constant news of riots and social injustice, giving the refrain a more universal appeal. I really appreciate the subtlety in Maurier's lyrics in this song, using the guise of a conversation between two people to convey the personal cost one endures when her worldview departs from traditional ones, or when her country lets her down. Melancholy and hopeless in tone, the song nonetheless leaves the listener hopeful by baring witness to the subject's resolve to carry on her own path and not the one laid before her.
The catchy but lyrically sparse "Wait" provides a wonderful and upbeat, albeit desperate, conclusion to "pyramid." "Oh let me wait" Maurer sings, over an edgy electric guitar and Motown inspired bass and backing vocals, as the financially strained subject pleads with circumstance to let a moment last just a little longer. Time, her most precious resource, is about to be exhausted. Maurer's love for the Motown sound and big band arrangements is felt on this song more than any other on the album, with the Bribes locking into the groovy rhythm earlier on and building it into a powerful classic rock number. At the climax, Maurer cries for someone, perhaps life even to give her a sign and "breathe me to life," before time runs out, the band fills the space around her with one last hurrah before fading out on the last breath of an electric guitar.
'shy-city,' Vol. 1: pyramid is a wonderful piece of soul-infused contemporary rock. Baby Money and the Down Payments, backed by the Bribes, compose some wonderful rock riffs without devastating the content and themes Maurer set out to convey in her lyrics. Her songs' messages hit on both a personal and socio-political level, illuminating current events and contemporary issues with a fresh light of music, soul searching, and passionate story telling.
Check out Baby Money and the Down Payments Tomorrow
Artwork by Pamela Maurer
