From bedroom to mainstream
Who they?
Based in Freemantle in Western Australia, St South is the alias of bedroom pop musician Olivia Gavranich.
Why St South?
Gavranich is a rare example of an artist casually breaking out of the bedroom to the mainstream. Her first EP, 2016’s ‘Nervous Energy’, yielded coveted placements on shows like ‘The Vampire Diaries’, and showcased an understated, restrained approach to electronic music production. Her quietly soulful, tender vocals offered lyrics that were unashamedly open. That heartfelt honesty continued through 2017’s raw ‘Inure’ and is given space to fully develop on her debut album ‘Get Well Soon’.
Tell us more…
‘Get Well Soon’ is a collection of 10 deeply introspective tracks, each one coloured by subtle percussion and sensitive electronics, which act as a cradle for Gavranich’s diaristic thoughts and feelings. Covering worldly anxieties, relationship tension and the anguish of growing up, songs like ‘Does Your Brain Ever Get This Loud?’ ruminate on mental health, in a style lying somewhere between gentle reassurance and unresolved despair. There’s a fragility and rawness to ‘A Little Alive’, its break-up lyrics laced with bitterness, an inability to let go of feelings and possessions and the daily challenge of climbing out of her despondency to get dressed. ‘Not Angry Yet’ finds us inside Gavranich’s head while she goes through the quotidian tasks of the day – pegging out the washing, folding laundry – while simultaneously pondering why a relationship is failing. ‘Get Well Soon’ is the sound of a genuine talent writing an album that gives voice to what it is to be young, alive and deeply troubled today. There’s big things ahead for Gavranich, mark our words.
‘Get Well Soon’ is released by Nettwerk