Katie Gavin
Katie Gavin Biography
Music often casts love as a game of absolutes: Heartbreak is the end of the world, and evil exes are obstacles to be overcome, rather than people to look directly in the eye. Life’s not really like
that, though, and it’s rare that a songwriter truly tries to sift through the gray areas of quotidian romance in search of meaning. On her debut solo album What A Relief, Katie Gavin does just
that: absorbing influences from over the course of her life and filtering them through the generational songwriting ability she’s honed as part of MUNA, What A Relief scrutinizes our
collective need for intimacy and romance without judgment or harshness.
Described, accurately, by Gavin as “Lilith Fair-core,” What A Relief taps into the unguarded self-possession and homespun pop sensibility of singers like Alanis Morissette, Fiona Apple and
Ani DiFranco, and uses their tenacity as a north star for Gavin’s own trek towards self-discovery. “This record spans a lot of my life – it’s about having a really deep desire for connection, but
also encountering all the obstacles that stood in my way to be able to achieve that, patterns of isolation or even boredom with the real work of love” she says. “What A Relief explores and
portrays it honestly, without shame.”
Written over the course of seven years, What A Relief comprises a set of songs that Gavin always loved but which “had something in them” that she and her bandmates felt didn’t quite fit
within the universe they were trying to cultivate with MUNA. Many of them were written on acoustic guitar, the way Gavin first learned to write songs, and are rooted in “a style of music
that’s very much in my blood, and natural for me,” as typified by the Canadian Women & Songs CDs that Gavin loves, which compiled music by artists like Tracy Chapman, Tori Amos and
Sarah McLachlan.
Throughout What A Relief, it’s immensely gratifying to hear Gavin work through her feelings about intimacy and love in real time. “As Good As It Gets,” a collaboration with Mitski, reckons
with the idea that healthy, long-term love won’t always be high highs and low lows, the calmness of its refrain – “I think this is as good as it gets” – both comforting and a little cold. “It’s about
being in what I thought was a healthy relationship, and wondering ‘Is this good enough if I don’t feel high from it?’” she says. “There’s a little bit of disappointment there in the actual everyday
experience of having intimacy with somebody.”
Openness of spirit is the overwhelming character of What A Relief, an album that’s refreshing in its willingness to accept people as they come, even as it remains in dogged pursuit
of a life that’s kinder, wiser and more loving. Gavin’s explorations of desire and intimacy feel time-worn and necessary – songs that might teach a generation if not how to live, exactly, then
at least how to look within oneself for guidance about how to move forward.
that, though, and it’s rare that a songwriter truly tries to sift through the gray areas of quotidian romance in search of meaning. On her debut solo album What A Relief, Katie Gavin does just
that: absorbing influences from over the course of her life and filtering them through the generational songwriting ability she’s honed as part of MUNA, What A Relief scrutinizes our
collective need for intimacy and romance without judgment or harshness.
Described, accurately, by Gavin as “Lilith Fair-core,” What A Relief taps into the unguarded self-possession and homespun pop sensibility of singers like Alanis Morissette, Fiona Apple and
Ani DiFranco, and uses their tenacity as a north star for Gavin’s own trek towards self-discovery. “This record spans a lot of my life – it’s about having a really deep desire for connection, but
also encountering all the obstacles that stood in my way to be able to achieve that, patterns of isolation or even boredom with the real work of love” she says. “What A Relief explores and
portrays it honestly, without shame.”
Written over the course of seven years, What A Relief comprises a set of songs that Gavin always loved but which “had something in them” that she and her bandmates felt didn’t quite fit
within the universe they were trying to cultivate with MUNA. Many of them were written on acoustic guitar, the way Gavin first learned to write songs, and are rooted in “a style of music
that’s very much in my blood, and natural for me,” as typified by the Canadian Women & Songs CDs that Gavin loves, which compiled music by artists like Tracy Chapman, Tori Amos and
Sarah McLachlan.
Throughout What A Relief, it’s immensely gratifying to hear Gavin work through her feelings about intimacy and love in real time. “As Good As It Gets,” a collaboration with Mitski, reckons
with the idea that healthy, long-term love won’t always be high highs and low lows, the calmness of its refrain – “I think this is as good as it gets” – both comforting and a little cold. “It’s about
being in what I thought was a healthy relationship, and wondering ‘Is this good enough if I don’t feel high from it?’” she says. “There’s a little bit of disappointment there in the actual everyday
experience of having intimacy with somebody.”
Openness of spirit is the overwhelming character of What A Relief, an album that’s refreshing in its willingness to accept people as they come, even as it remains in dogged pursuit
of a life that’s kinder, wiser and more loving. Gavin’s explorations of desire and intimacy feel time-worn and necessary – songs that might teach a generation if not how to live, exactly, then
at least how to look within oneself for guidance about how to move forward.
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