“We Were Bodies Underwater” by Gemma Laurence – thoughts

Gemma Laurence has been a long-time favorite of mine, and my old blog, including an obvious inclusion of Lavender on our best-of-2022 list. Since then, the title track from that record has stuck with me as one of my favorite songs of all time. It’s an encapsulation of all that makes Laurence’s music great, an undeniably great storyteller, crafting powerful and moving tunes. Even when she’s singing about cake on Jimmy Fallon. Seriously, Laurence is a powerhouse wordsmith, and damn, does she live up, and vastly exceed to that expectation on her latest record, We Were Bodies Underwater.

The record opens up with a track that is distinctively Gemma Laurence. “Still There” is underscored with some lightly picked banjo and strummed acoustic as Laurence sets the scene, from Wal-Mart to onboard Amtrak. Taking everything she has to keep it together in the ruins of a relationship while it all replays in her mind. It’s followed up by “Hedonist”, which is fairly heavy compared to the rest of We Were Bodies Underwater. It’s an honest track about obsessing over someone, even if it has the potential to be self-destructive. I absolutely love these lyrics:

I’m on my selfish antagonist shit
Share my body count with my therapist
And honestly she can get it too
I’m reckless, hedonistic
If you see me out I’m a cool bitch
Guess I’ll just be my own muse

“Bloodlines” is where Laurence thrives, it’s a gorgeous alt-country track, with some heavy lyrical content, and it really sets up the rest of the record brilliantly. “Harbor” is the gorgeous build with piano, strings, and stunning harmonies. “Just a Kid” continues with the heavy lyrical content, it’s a powerful track and ends with a great guitar solo that makes the track really stand out among the others around it.

“Want Me”, though. Holy shit, what a track. A song of yearning, with strings, some slow drumming, pedal steel, synth, and Laurence’s voice drenched in harmony and reverb, including moments of just her breathing. “Bird Song” kicks up the pace, with that churning banjo returning, and another great build. The pace is kept up with the confessional “Your Arm Brushed Mine”. It sets up the listener for the acoustic “Lover (I Will Meet You Down The Line)”, a perfect album closer for a record like We Were Bodies Underwater. Just Laurence and guitar, and a little ambient fuzz adding to the intimate track.

We Were Bodies Underwater is a fantastic record from start to finish. Deeply rooted in folk and alt-country, Laurence shares her stories, personal, heavy, and always relatable. She’s completely open with her listeners, and sometimes to a fault. But once we get to those big moments, each detail comes into focus and it all resonates deeply. It’s an album to keep spinning for a long, long time.

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