By Austin Henderson
As the latest stop on her nationwide tour, rising singer/songwriter Margaret Glaspy will perform today at local music institution the Mill. The show, which will begin at 8 p.m. and cost $12, will feature music drawn primarily from her 2016 LP, Emotions and Math.
Scoring well in a review published in Pitchfork, her style was likened to a synthesis of famed singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell and songwriter Elliott Smith. This comparison was not unwarranted, as, in an interview with The Daily Iowan, Glaspy said, “I listened to a lot of Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Elliott Smith while growing up, and I really revisited Smith a lot prior to recording Emotions and Math.”
While the influence of Smith and Mitchell is undeniable, out of her pantheon of influences it is perhaps Young with whom she shares the most affinity. Both are gifted (or tasked, depending on one’s point of view) with voices falling outside of the spectrum of what is considered conventionally appealing. Initially, this forces the listener to go through a period of acclimation, but once the shock wears off, the listener realizes her voice, far from a handicap, serves as the mechanism by which every last drop of feeling and emotion can be milked from her lyrics.
This is important, because the subject matter of the aptly titled Emotions and Math is quite heavy. Detailing the fallout of a romantic relationship, the album gives the listener an inside look into the morose atmosphere and flaring emotions of young adult courtship gone wrong.
The album serves to be an alternate genre rendition of Tame Impala’s recent Currents. Instead of being bathed in atmospheric psychedelia,ruminations on the failings of a relationship are served on a plate of hard-edged rock and punk instrumentals. When asked about the sound ofthe album, Glaspy said that while on tour in Europe, she had been influenced by the Swedish metal band Meshuggah.
The musical journey of Glaspy mirrors the eclecticism of her influences.
“I grew up in Red Bluff, California, was always into music, and played fiddle and guitar,” she said.
Her interest in music really began to intensify after graduating from high school, when Glaspy moved across the country to attend Berklee College of Music, in Boston. “I went to Berklee for a semester and then dropped out and later moved to New York City,” she said.
In New York City she solidified her craft. “I feel like New York had a large influence on Emotions and Math,” she said. “The mentality of the record was work with what you’ve got, making the most of small spaces and time — cutting away a lot of the excess.”
This stripped-down minimalist approach can be seen throughout the instrumentation of her work, with the dark brooding sounds serving as a fitting sonic background for her lyrics.
“The record was my first full-length record,” she said. “The goal was to make some good music, and I feel like I wrote some of the best songs I could write.”
