Hearing Genevieve Schatz’s voice in an actual song again has brought me nothing but pure joy. Since the disbandment of Company of Thieves, I have had to live off of the series of Instagram videos from the artist now known as Genevieve to get my fix of the vocal wonder. But, alas, Genevieve has been featured on one of Jimmy Giannopolous’ tracks from his newest endeavor called “G”. Giannopolous, a member of the band Reputante and producer of Lolawolf and M O T H E R’s most recent albums, embarks on this musical experiment with the lead single featuring Ms. Schatz; the result is an ethereal jam appropriately titled “Outer Space.”
The track opens with a loop of Genevieve’s falsetto laced with warm keyboard tremblings. The sonic bubble created by her vocals layered with tranquilizing piano reverb in the background soon gets punctured with calculated and constant pin pricks of static-y percussion, releasing the sound into an atmospheric ocean that expands to feel like floating in the cosmos. By the end of the first chorus, there are rumblings of unexpected, ebullient sax, but even when the brass takes over the track, it doesn’t cross into cheesy territory. Genevieve’s raspy coo keeps it all from feeling tawdry.
In just over three minutes, this song manages to transcend time and space, which I would attribute predominantly to Genevieve Schatz’s otherworldly vocals. Airy and emotive, there isn’t much she can’t get across. With a lead single like “Outer Space,” G is destined to be an existential musical quest. And hopefully, this is Genevieve’s step back into the spotlight. “Outer Space” is the first release from a full EP recorded with help from engineer/saxophonist Tim Sandusky and Darren Will on bass, which will see release soon on Innit Records.
Check out the new track below:
