Ali McGuirk - Til It's Gone

by Zena Grieg

published: 19 / 12 / 2022

Label: Signature Sounds
Format: CD

The Boston-based singer-songwriter Ali McGuirk, who has described her sound as “a multi-genre experience,” has released a follow-up to her acclaimed debut album ‘Slow Burn’. Recorded in LA, co-prod

Review

The Boston-based singer-songwriter Ali McGuirk, who has described her sound as “a multi-genre experience,” has released a follow-up to her acclaimed debut album ‘Slow Burn’. Recorded in LA, co-produced by McGuirk with celebrated folk-blues musician and singer-songwriter Jonah Tolchin, ‘’Til It’s Gone’ navigates eternal themes including oppression, discrimination, love and self-belief, at its core a resilient optimism set against an eclectic backdrop of classic pop, rock, folk, soul and R&B. Songs to listen out for in this nine-track collection include: the melancholy opener ‘X’ Boyfriends’ with its soaring harmonies and soulful organ; the soul-searching ‘Evelyn’ which speaks of the “several layers of generational trauma that the women in my family have survived”; ‘The Work’ with its layered associations and foreboding: “…there’s a price still yet to be paid/For the futures we have made”; the raw and sombre R&B ‘Let It Be You’; the haunting ‘All Back’, reflections on life after the pandemic and the unexpected changes it brought; the sultry ‘Leave Me’; and the closer, the gritty rock-blues ‘Milk’ bringing the album to a powerful crescendo. An evocative record with perceptive lyrics, carried by McGuirk’s mellifluous vocals, ‘Til It’s Gone’ marks an assured next step in this versatile musician’s journey.