A review of Last songs About You by Garey Godson
By Lawal Salami
Garey Godson’s three-track extended playlist, Last Songs About You is a collection of songs that project the stages of grief for those moving on from a relationship with people that they are now apart from.
When you press the play button, you find an orange sunset behind piercing eyes. This is a direction well crafted by the hands and mind of surrealist visual artist and Garey’s frequent collaborator, Ebube Onoh. But the effect of the picture to the mind is only the beginning of one’s experience with the project.
Garey’s voice glides smoothly over a well-laid arrangement of low tones keys, deep afro drums, other lighter instruments and high pitch adlibs. It seems, as an artist, that he is trying to get some sort of closure from his failing love with these last songs. And from the jump, he promises that after these songs, there won’t be any crumbs left to pick off that love tie. He probably believed himself as all artists would. Apparently, his intention with this song was to reveal his scars, hoping that whoever resonates with it might heal too.
About is a perfect song – my personal favourite. I mean, many of us reading this right now have been there. You know that situation where both of you are apart, yet close together and trying to define what you are. It is beautiful, it is unsettling. It is the perfect string between the last songs and you. And so long you keep listening, more often than not, it will always lead back to You.
Garey’s work is brilliantly produced. The songs are entertaining, sweet for the evening, and carry honest confrontations. Throughout this review, I have described the projects using words like “songs” and “tracks” when in fact the project was baked in singularity. One segment flows into three tracks and peels off the contradictions into barefaced reality.
As I listen, I can relate to every one of his conditions. The unease that befalls an artist in turmoil, that he can only rest after he has made that master stroke that articulates his befuddled experiences. Because I am required to evaluate at the end of this, I can tell you that he largely succeeds at putting down these emotions so vividly, that people can recognise and share. These are really the last songs about you.
Listen to Garey Godsoon’s “Last Songs About You”
Rating: 8.2
