By Mona Austin
Collie Wattz has delivered an inventive musical experiment with "Down South," a project he created in his spare bedroom that was converted into a studio during the pandemic. For not putting his life on hold during a period of uncertainty he gets instant respect. His style has been described as "Lo-fi Folk Blues." The outcome is not eclectic as these adjectives might suggest, but is something new and different.
An independent singer/songwriter born and raised in the suburbs of Birmingham, Alabama. Collie spent his youth living all across the United States from Southern California to beaches along the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way he created a unique sound fusing country instrumentation with the techno tones of Lo-fi. The resulting spin on traditional blues will be intriguing for listeners who can identify with encountering hard knocks in life. Here, blues is moreso the mood of the musician, rather than the classification of the music. Don't expect to be able to compare it to Keb Mo or Robert Cray. It's Collie's hard-to-classify, electronically blinged out version of the blues.
The promoters provided 4 tracks to review from the EP. Since I have never heard of this specific form of music, I approached this critique through the lends of a talent show auditioner applying a simple rating system. The way my system works is that a full listen equals 10 points and a partial 5. The project would need to average a 5 to make my talent show. There were more partials than 10's. I'm ranking this project as decent enough to give a chance, but not a safe blind buy. With a score of 4.5, it would not ordinarily make my talent show. But then, I thought about what that could mean for a recording that certainly deserves a listen and awarded it a merit point for creativity. Alas, "Down South" garnered a slightly above average final score, of 5.5.
The tone of the music conjures up images of a man in solitude reeking of depression while sitting in a dimly lit room with booze or pills on a night stand. Tracks 1 ("John Brown") and 2 ("Backwater") were an audio tossed salad made up of a dash of the lo-fi scratchy record sound, a drum beat and guitar. Although the songs were rhythmically different, it sounds like they are in the same key. You could literally string together the first 2 tracks and think it was the same song. This tubular arrangement made the listening experience boring initially. From a strictly production quality standpoint, the arrangements could have been better, especially with the scaled back vibe.
Each intro beat established an anticipation that was interrupted by random and incoherent sounds making it hard to get into the songs. There is definitely room for improvement on the project, but at the same time it gets credit for being highly original and is worth a listen.
Lyrically the project is solid. The words "I'm lost and I'm broken. Feels like my life's been stolen from me," drew me into the story on the song "Backwater," the most "blue" of the tracks. There is an intimate energy in the writing that conveys the songwriter wants to be understood.
The pace of the vocals is between rapping and a conversation that is common on many rap tracks. Staccato-like phrases It's hard to call him a singer and equally as hard to know that you are listening to a guy with his high-pitched voice.
However, the indie artist hits his stride effortlessly on the fourth and final track, "Werewolf." In the well blended walk up to the first verse, you could easily think the late BB King is about to sing. Instead, you hear Collie's high pitched, wispy voice taking the listener to a graveyard at night time where he howls to the moon. With more polished instrumentation and better overall flow, "Werewolf" is the leading track on "Down South" in my view (certainly the best of the four songs I heard.)
The artist has said his style is "Lo-Fi Folk/ Electronica Bedroom Pop" so we will go with that. In the same ways listeners came to know and embrace Afro Punk and other fused genres, maybe there are open arms waiting for "Down South." Listen to "Down South by Callie Wattz" on You Tube.