A couple of years ago I discovered Gurli Octavia and nothing has been the same ever since.
Ok, I am prone to a little exaggeration now and again but there was something about her album ‘I Could Be Blossoming Instead’ that set her out from the crowd, and not only in Denmark.
2021 was supposed to be Gurli’s ‘breakout’ year with a comprehensive series of tours planned including the UK but the Covid brothers, Delta and Omicron, put paid to that. Now she’s back with the first of what will be a run of singles throughout the year. And what a corker, as The Sun might say.
When I first heard the title of this new song I thought it was an instruction to Lemmy (Kilmister) (and he did). There’s rawness about Gurli which suggests she is probably the type who does hand out instructions and has no truck with dissent. If she says it’s Tuesday, then it’s Tuesday.
By her standards ‘Lemme lie down’ is quite a lightweight piece. The album dealt at length – but always immensely convincingly – with ongoing personal issues she had had for some time but which she was slowly overcoming. Here she throttles right back into the girlie (as opposed to Gurli) territory of deciding whether to go out and party (and again, I have more than a sneaking suspicion that she knows exactly how to do that) or to stay in and “curl up on the couch, eat three bags of Cheetos and binge Netflix.)”
The fact that she adds “based on a true story” is superfluous. You just know it’s true.
It is hardly lightweight musically though, and there’s a distinct shift in style. The album was notable for fundamentally an acoustic approach with a lot of minor keys, in keeping with the solemn material. Here it’s much more upbeat, and she conveys the impression that she is blossoming now; really enjoying herself. If it wasn’t for that pesky decision-making about whether or not to stay put or get her glad rags on and hit the dance floor.
And you know, there’s only one winner in the decision stakes. How can there be any other with lines like “I wanna steer the city like it’s my own f*****g limousine” and “All I wanted was the whole world in my hands.” Neither of those eventualities is possible while you’re horizontal with your butt draped over a cushion.
Underscored by an odd but powerful beat of the sort you’d normally associate with a classy American R&B number and with a memorable chorus, ‘Lemme lie down’ opens up a veritable cornucopia of new markets for Gurli and I’m glad to see that there’s a radio edit ready-prepared, which has exorcised the swearing and references to Jesus Christ, this rendering it playable, for example, on the BBC, which is where it should be.
The only thing I couldn’t get my head around is the sudden ending. Then I realised that I’d probably called this all wrong and she’d opted to have a lie down instead.
‘Lemme lie down’ is released on 4th March on eighteighteightyeight records (Denmark) and Integrity Records (UK).
Find Gurli on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gurlioctaviaofficial
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gurlioctavia
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