Washington – I Believe You Liar

Over the past 2 years or so, Megan Washington has slowly carved out a reputation for producing quirky and enlightening pop songs. Tracks like Cement, Clementine and How to Tame Lions managed to gain regular radio airtime, and the Australian public slowly began to take notice of the talent that was at hand. With I Believe You Liar, Washington fulfils all expectations by producing an album that is full of twists and turns, highlighting the Melbourne chanteuse’s ability to be equal parts uplifting and inverted when the time is nigh.

There is so much variation on I Believe You Liar that it is hard to really single-out Washington’s style. However, at its core, the music is quintessential indie-pop, with subtle tangents that help to make each track unique. The combination of mostly high-end electric guitar and catchy piano hooks pushes the majority of the album. Another attractive side to Washington’s sound is the frequent use of either shakers or tambourine in the rockier, upbeat tracks on this CD, which help to further engage the listener. These elements are no more evident than at the beginning of the album, with Navy Blues and Cement encapsulating the real pop aspect that is scattered throughout I Believe You Liar.

Songs like The Hardest Part and the tango-inducing Spanish Temper carry on with the more playful components of the album, showcasing Washington’s impeccable turn-of-phrase in her songwriting. In contrast, the minimalism of tracks like Lover/Soldier and Underground highlight a more emotional and reflective characteristic of the artist’s music. In the case of Underground, Megan takes on the role of a balladeer, singing lyrics that evoke images of sunny days spent with family over a lightly finger-picked electric guitar. Bona fide singles Rich Kids and Sunday Best further strengthen the mid-section of this album, and it is these tracks that display the more chic elements of Washington’s sound.

The album also sees previously released tracks reappear, which is certainly implemented to good effect in the case of Clementine and How to Tame Lions. The former opens with a deep synth line that ultimately leads into a joyous, optimistic sounding tune, and shows off Washington’s ability to write lyrics that are simple in essence, but still seem to represent greater meanings. How to Tame Lions, in the same vein as Clementine, opens with a drone-like keyboard beat and slowly opens up to display a more introspective side of the singer that questions ideas of life and love with quite thoughtful analogies. It is interesting to see how these two tracks almost find the middle ground between the upbeat and down-tempo extremes on I Believe You Liar.

Washington manages to find the perfect balance in a lyrical sense between the harder, edgier songs and the more emotive and raw moments on the album. It is clear that the singer has given herself plenty of freedom in the songs that are written, and the unpredictability of time signatures and lyrical content helps to make the album a more enjoyable listening experience on the whole. The album culminates in the beautifully crafted title track, which floats along through a symphonic-sounding string section backing an elegant grand piano line, and sees Megan singing with more emotion than any other track on I Believe You Liar.

Put simply, this album is going to great things for Megan and her friends. In I Believe You Liar, we have witnessed an artist with raw talent and emotion not scared to write unashamedly pop songs that are unique, yet still manage to connect with a wide audience. It appears Australia has a new female songwriter to embrace, and it appears we will be embracing Washington for years to come yet. She has certainly established herself amongst her contemporaries with this album; it is hard to imagine what more she can come up with, but the prospect is indeed an exciting one.