Sometimes, I encounter music that is simultaneously life changing, awe-inspiring, heartbreaking and inspirational. About 18 months ago, I heard about this singer/songwriter/composer from Newcastle upon Tyne, who goes by the name of Debs McCoy. At the time, I didn’t quite realize what I was listening to, or, more to the point, how special her music would become to me. Her songs have the ability to make this girl weep uncontrollably from the feelings they invoke, and conversely to feel hope for a positive future.
Debs has now released two albums, “Tiny Wooden Blocks” and “Silent the Corner”, and has now embarked on an extremely personal project entitled “The Therapy Sessions”, which I’ve recently had the utmost honor and pleasure of listening to.
Each track is an instrumental improvisation, most of which focus on the piano, but also feature strings and percussion. Each of the twenty compositions feels incredibly intimate, and they vary between the beautiful sadness of Therapy Session #8, the upbeat hopefulness of #14, and the warm, soothing tones of #16.
This set of tunes does exactly what it says on the label – it’s therapeutic in the truest sense of the word. In its entirety, “The Therapy Sessions” feels almost like an intrusion into Debs’ mind, her innermost thoughts are set before us in music. I don’t see this as a bad thing – I for one am very grateful that she’s shared these moments in time with us.
I won’t say any more now, as in certain circumstances it’s best to let the music do the talking…