'Incandescent Fire' by Katsy Pline: It's Her That I See

Author

Trixie Rasputin

Stream Incandescent Fire

The name of this album "Incandescent Fire," by the incredible Katsy Pline, is one of the first things that made me curious about the music contained within. Fire is by definition incandescent (or rather, emitting light created by heat). However, incandescent can also mean "full of strong emotion, passionate". Katsy Pline is the incandescent fire, still burning after all life has nearly disappeared. On the title track, singer Evie B. sings, "Molten flows of dreams... fill my flesh with incandescent fire." That hope contained within even the saddest and most bereft tracks on the album are what keep these masterful songs ever-giving. I find something new and fresh every time I listen.

"Incandescent Fire" seems to be a straightforward Americana album, until you start noticing the odd time signatures, the synthesizers, the jazz compositions that float beneath the western sound like gentle waves. Like the best country music, this album manages to be uplifting amidst palpable sorrow and regret. On the first track, Evie B. quavers in a gorgeous falsetto "Well she's long gone and I just can't sleep/And I close my eyes, well it's her that I see." I felt saddened and moved to tears when I heard her signature yodel in the song "Guess I'm Always Leaving" which is the album's breakout hit. There is really deep emotion woven into the arrangements of my favorite songs which include "Do You Ever Miss Me" and "Standing All Alone." On the latter track, she sings "I'm dancing with my shadow" as a shimmer of eerie arpeggios flutter all around these lonely figures. You really begin to wonder, are there actually two people in that lonesome embrace, or just one? Katsy Pline has a way of making lost loves and ghosts seem as real and alive as the living. 

All throughout Katsy Pline's works (Incandescent Fire is the third album from this talented band), it is obvious that Katsy the person (aka Evie B.) has suffered, pined, cried, screamed, and wondered the proverbial why? This is probably showcased the best on the final track, "Lost and Lonesome Too," which is a sweet folk song conveying child-like innocence in a big mean world. There isn't an ounce of anger, just a longing mixed with a child's curiosity, and maybe even a little resignation. To end the album here is truly the checkmate of this sophisticated work of art.

Just like her namesake Patsy Cline, our Katsy could easily be found at the bar crying away her mascara, or dancing on the table in drunken (or perhaps hallucinogenic) delight. Although I suspect the musical arrangements are more technical and complex than they might seem, there's a beautiful simplicity in the delivery of each song. The production makes no bones about showcasing Katsy Pline's best feature: Evie B.'s delicate vocals and poetic songwriting. It is at once wonderful and tragic, capturing the moment that heartbreak becomes heart-opening. Hard to forget, and hard to leave behind, "Incandescent Fire" is one of the most glamorous albums I have heard coming out of the Bay Area music scene in a long time. Someone hand me a whiskey because I'll drink to that.
5/5 🥃 🥃 🥃 🥃 🥃