Tanya-Lee Davies Drops A Vintage Single

The latest release from Tanya-Lee Davies brings out such a vintage tonality that it felt like a song that was released in the late 60s to mid-70s. This is heavily due to the songwriting approach, along with the tonality of the instruments involved. This is a track that combines a dreamy undertone with folk elements and hints of classic rock and pop, all with an Americana touch.

The song blends all of these influential genres together, but also creates that old school and vintage aesthetic so well that it feels almost nostalgic, in a sense.

"You Know It's Autumn" comes right in with acoustic guitars that give you a great progression, but also have electric guitars playing chords over those, and the electric guitar has this classic twang to it.

The bass guitar tone is a really important aspect of the track, too. The bass guitar has that boisterous sort of feel, and it helps give the song more of that vintage style and soundscape, along with how a lot of these instruments are sort of drenched in this reverb effect, making them feel distanced and giving the song this awesome depth.

The percussion is also something that leans towards that same aesthetic with rolling snares, and the whole thing does absolutely have a great pop sensibility to it, just in a classic style, and I think she nails this so well that it actually feels like a song you missed out on from past decades.

Her vocals are sort of smooth and have a very particular kind of soul to them, and the whole thing also has a shimmering feel. It sort of glimmers and shines with a jangly sound as well. There are actual additional percussion jangles like tambourine that you can hear in the mix too, and that helps that shimmer come through particularly well, but the whole thing seems to have this unique and very addictive presence.

You can tell there was a lot of thought that went into this track, especially in terms of the tones of the instruments and the aesthetic that she really wanted. It is something that is thought about ahead of time, and for her to nail that and bring that sound to fruition was a beautiful thing.

You can hear all these great influences that she's pulling from.

Now, although as I mentioned earlier, the song is very pop-oriented, it does lend a hand to Southern tones as well. You can certainly hear Americana or even country at times, especially in the twangy guitars and the way the song builds.

The way the song is swimming in that reverb effect makes it also feel a little bit dreamy. This gives it a cinematic underbelly and pulls you into the song deeper.

The track absolutely shows depth and works with textures and layering in such a brilliant way that the whole thing just has a forward moving flow that feels completely natural.

Songs come to a great rise during those choruses, and she has some excellent vocal harmonies that come into play, but it's never overdone. Everything is done tastefully, and the whole song has a particular kind of elegance to it in the performance that helps it swim around in the air that surrounds you.

This is one of those songs that you listen to with headphones on. This way, you can soak in all of those layers.

You are meant to hear all of those textures coming together, and headphones are one of the best ways to do that.

The track is engulfing, but in a great way.

Although it has all that reverb effect and feels deepening and dreamy, it also has a warmth to it too.

There's something about this song that invites you along for the ride.

Before long, you can hear vibraphones coming through, guitars start playing with a more pronounced tremolo effect, and everything is full throttle in terms of delivering the vintage tone it was meant to.

This was absolutely wonderful to hear come full circle. The way it gives you this light-hearted psychedelic folk pop approach is borderline brilliant.

Her singing is beautifully performed and not just perfectly in Pitch but has some heart to it, giving you lyrics that you end up getting attached to as well.

When you listen to those lyrics, they're very descriptive in terms of the nature of the song. The actual nature, and how leaves are falling like rain, and how there is love and a hint of heartbreak involved as well.

So, not only does it give all of these great layers and classic Aesthetics, but it also has some authenticity in terms of the lyrical approach. You can tell this came from some real place, and that gives you more persona.

This was a robust and brilliantly put-together track that was sonically precise in its delivery.

I absolutely fell right into this, and I think you will too.

So, take a deep dive into this one and again, pop on some headphones to check this out because it's the best way to listen to it.

While you're doing that, have a read-through of our interview with the artist below, as we delve into a lot of behind-the-scenes info and influence that brought this song to life. 

Remember where you heard it first.

Buzz Slayers: Let's talk about " You Know It's Autumn"! This song had a vintage aesthetic to it and I got pulled right into that!  Where did this track come from? 

It came from sitting around the kitchen table and looking outside as Autumn was in full swing and all I could see in my backyard were gold and brown leaves, and when it was windy they would fall to the ground like rain. It reminded me of crying for some reason, and the loneliness of heart ache turned into a story. As for the vintage sound you mention, I often get that feedback, which I’m fine with, but it’s not calculated, I do have very specific atmospheric sounds that I like and I guess I wear my influences on my sleeve, more than i realise. I did have Laurel Canyon in mind as a reference for this track when we recorded and mixed it.

Buzz Slayers: I'm hearing a few different approaches to this song! Who are some of your biggest musical influences?

My modern day influences would be Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley and her solo work), I also love Julia Jacklin & Lucinda Williams. Amy Winehouse impacted me lyrically and her where she took her voice. My influences as a teenager were the Laurel Canyon singer songwriters, especially Carole King and Joni Mitchell,  also The Beatles, Bonnie Raitt, the Girl Group sound - the Ronettes in particular, The Shangri-Las, Motown, Phil Spector, then Patti Smith, Lou Reed, Bob Dylan, Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, 50’s R&B, 60’s pop music, Shannon Shaw, Chrissie Hyde, Dusty Springfield … and Gil Scott-Heron, Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway.

Buzz Slayers: Did you record this at a home setup, or at a big studio?

The album is a mongrel. About 3/4 was recorded at James Bellew’s smallish home studio, some of the musicians recorded their parts in their studios. Then I took everything to Roger Bergodaz, who I’d worked with on my last record, and we finalised the vocals, recorded the last few tracks in his studio, which is beautiful and spacious, so that was a joy for me.

Buzz Slayers: How did this all start for you as an artist?

The last album I put out, Dreamland,  was delayed, as everything in the world was, by lockdowns, so by the time the first single was released in 2022 the album had been ready to go for almost 2 years and I’d been writing a lot during that time. So the songs on this new record, including You Know It’s Autumn were also waiting to see the light of day. 

Buzz Slayers: Are you performing live right now? 

Yes, I’ve been starting to do shows again leading up to the launch of this first single in a few weeks!

Buzz Slayers: Now that this is out, what's next for you?

Another single will come out early next year, plus some video’s and then launch the album, which is still untitled at the moment, mid year. 

Buzz Slayers: Who's in your headphones right now?

Always Jenny Lewis, lots of Lee Hazlewood, Nancy Sinatra, lots of old country music, and I have a radio show in Australia, that is all female content, and I’m always trying to find new music to play and my latest favourite discoveries are CMAT, Tele Novella, Gabriella Cohen, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Japanese Breakfast, Loose Tooth, Lo Barnes.

Buzz Slayers: What would you tell people they can expect on this release?

It has a confessional quality to it, the songs are stories, they could be real, some are, or they might be about characters that I’ve created from the seed of an event or feeling and then dreamt up a whole scenario for them to live inside of.

Buzz Slayers: Before we go, what would you like to express to fans of the music? 

Thank you for connecting with my song! It’s so validating when you feel that something you created in your mind first of all, and then with an instrument has gone out into the world and someone has had an emotional connection to it. That is why art is so important, it touches everyone differently and sometimes in unexpected ways. SO….  Reject AI! Keep listening to real music, written and recorded by real musicians. And books, and movies and visual art, anything that’s created by a human versus a robot. 

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