Hannah Trigwell
Comfortable
Hannah is the definition of an independent working musician and activist. She’s been a busker, self-promoter, writer, YouTuber, an advocate for the environment and human rights, and uses her music as a conduit for good. She’s also a true independent in terms of her releases - from composition and production, to marketing and promoting. For those of you interested in learning how to build a solid fan base, incorporate activism into your brand and stay true to your roots, you can learn a lot of great lessons from this successful artist. Most importantly, it takes damn good music, and she’s got it. Her latest track, “Comfortable,” is her strongest release to date. Here’s our review.
Track starts with a muted vocal, buried in reverb over a basic drum beat. Verse starts over the same beat and a simple guitar pattern. It’s a subtle start, similar to what you’d hear from Phoebe, Maggie, or even a Pop Country song. The pre shows off her impressive vocal chops as she’s able to gliss into phrases with ease - it also adds an expansion dimension to the section, which every pre needs. That little BG riff she throws in, “and she said” is so perfect. The chorus is absolutely solid. Utterly adore how we don’t hear the bass in this track until the chorus starts - what a great trick, it really makes the track pop. Great lyrics, visuals and melody here, this is perfectly in the vein of MUNA and Haley Williams. It utilizes the best of her chest and head voice, soaring over an expanded room of sound. The images that she creates with her words convey the empathy and urgency of strained relationship. The “old college T-shirt” line, where she equates the stain in it that she can’t get out to the relationship itself is pure poetry. Her writing reminds us very much of Sara Bareilles, one of our favorite modern lyricists. Second verse is a great drop-out breakdown before we head back into that great pre-chorus and chorus we love so much. With the bridge we can another exceptional section that builds intensity not just with the lyrics and their delivery, but the feel and additional instruments. The track ends with a hard stop after a stripped down chorus that shoves the lyrics right back in our face as if to remind us of the most important part of the song, it’s premise, and not wasting time or risks we didn’t take. Wow, can’t say enough about this track, it’s tones, structure, melody, lyrics, production - everything is so good. Sorry for the stream of consciousness still writing on this one, but we rarely dig a song as much as we dig this one. Wow.
Do yourself a favor and go back through her work, especially the album RED. You’ll get a feel for how her writing has always been solid, but is even better now. Our favorites include “Is It Wrong?” and “Filthy Rich,” two very different songs that show her depth of writing. When you scroll through her YouTube channel, you’ll see a hard working professional. She’s previewing material, reviewing instruments, and talking about activism - but also being very honest and not taking herself too seriously. That’s how you build a fan base. We’re hooked - we can’t wait to hear what she’ll do next.