London-based musician, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Morchella serves up a haunting rush with her release “Woman of Now.” The song shares its title with the EP it appears on – and fittingly, it epitomizes the sound Morchella is known for. Haunting. Floaty. Fierce. “Woman of Now” has the moody, crooning atmosphere of a Radiohead song with a sizzling twist that is entirely original.
The song opens with hazy guitar, immediately introducing the listener to the track’s defining riff. Morchella frequently demonstrates a dark and emotive style in her work, and “Woman of Now” is no exception. The opening vocals drawl to the forefront, the verse melody layering on top of the guitar riff. But the song really kicks off when the drums jump in. The drums keep the song grounded, even as the overlapping guitars and ethereal vocals create a dreamy effect.
I wanna be a woman of now/let this moment wash over me
The drums transition us into the chorus, which transforms the feeling of the piece from near sinister to something that shimmers. The chorus is both longing and bright. It’s a clever inversion of the first verse, a lovely twist from what the listener is expecting. Although it’s often difficult to decipher the lyrics, the soundscape of the piece tells us everything we need to know: it’s wistful, hungry, and glistening. At the end of the chorus, the guitar riff re-enters and drops us back into a brooding space. Rinse and repeat for the second chorus – and then things get really interesting.
Now it’s all there is
Following the second chorus, the song dissolves into its bridge, marked by the repeating lyric: “Now it’s all there is.” The instruments sink into a slow burn here, settling into an electric tension. The listener is trapped, enraptured, tracking the slow rise of the soundscape, waiting for the song to burst through itself. Then the guitar starts trilling – which contributes even more to the rising tension – and the lyrics switch back to the refrain “I want to be a woman of now.” But this is no return to the sparkling chorus; instead, the melody remains sunk in the tense interlude, swallowed by the frenzied guitar and insistent drums. Hold here. Hold. And then the song breaks wide open.
The soundscape shatters into a gorgeous, haunting musical interlude. The instrumentals are driven by the defining guitar riff, and strung through with haunting vocals. This brings us all the way to the end of the song, where the guitar riff trails into a gentle conclusion.
“Woman of Now” is an otherworldly song – mysterious, sleek, and crooning. It’s a modern message wrapped in a nostalgic sound. It’ll take you on a journey, and it’s definitely worth the ride.
