When it comes to modern folk, South African-based folk duo Genevieve & Milo get everything right. The lyricism is central to the shape of “What a Wonderful Thing”, the single from their upcoming debut album Moonflower. The song’s production and composition make grandeur out of an intimate and strikingly common thing, common because we humans all have it in common: Desire for love and desire to be desired.
I’m only a woman and I’m made from all these things.
I’m a fool and I’m free and I need to be in love.
Genevieve’s classical background makes this track what it is. The delivery is damn magical, lifting us up into the heights right with her. It’s a song that sounds like how it feels when that rush of need/fury/joy blooms in us and we know we’re in love. There are comparisons you can make, sure. There’s a Florence and the Machine sort of space, in that she has the lyrical intimacy you’d expect from Haley Heyenderickx or Phoebe Bridgers, but Genevieve’s got a color and a power all her own.
The production around her vocals knows exactly what to do: The drums are driving, and the acoustic guitar pulls us up into the swell, but it follows G’s vocal delivery with utter closeness. The second she backs off, we’re in a pseudo-ambient space, building back up when she’s ready to burn the house down. If this is a clear example of what we can expect from their new record, there’s something really special on the horizon.
Take a listen to “What a Wonderful Thing” below.
Written by Willow Stonebeck
