Joy Williams

One of Those Days, the indie EP by Joy Williams, is a nice little quartet of songs economically performed with a minimum of bravado and a good dose of singer/songwriter intimacy. Although ‘nice’ is not necessarily the word you want to read in a music review, it seems appropriate for these songs – all of which are very good, but not so good as to become very memorable over the long-term.

Williams knows how to write a hook and seems to be able to write songs that have very good commercial potential – not hit songs or life-changing songs, but songs that would be at home somewhere in the middle of any commercial pop album. In fact, Williams has scored co-writing credits for a song on the new album by American Idol’s David Archuleta – a fact that illustrates my point. Williams is a serviceable songwriter, and One of Those Days is an EP of four fine songs that you will probably like quite a bit if you enjoy the mainstream pop or singer/songwriter genre.

Williams herself is a good singer, falling somewhere in that category between Sixpence None the Richer’s Leigh Nash and Over the Rhine’s Karin Bergquist – as a matter of fact, fans of Over the Rhine will immediately hear the similarities in style and tone as soon as the opening track, “One of Those Days,” starts with Williams singing, “Don’t ask me how it’s going if you don’t want to know / I stayed out too late, woke up late – Oh, you know how it goes…” in a very Bergquist-like style. This song also happens to be the most engaging and fully-produced of the four tracks: a radio-ready, catchy song about the reality of everyday life and the small-talk it produces. In the end, she confesses, “It’s just one – one of those days / it’s all going just so perfectly wrong…” and we know that we’ve all been there, and will probably be there again tomorrow.

The second track, “What Can I Do (But Love You)” brings out the Leigh Nash in her, as Williams sings a lilting pop love song with a chorus that The Carpenters would have had a ball with back in the day. There’s a warmth to the production, which (like on the other songs) sticks to the basics of keyboards, drums, bass, guitar and just a hint of horns.

The Sixpence influence continues on “Charmed Life,” which uses a nice combination of acoustic piano phrases combined with a more pulsating electronic keyboard sound.

“I’m Gonna Break Your Heart” is a bare-bones production featuring Williams’ breathy, up-front vocal confession, “I’ve got reservations / about you and me / And if we pull the string – things will start unraveling / I’m afraid to stay / you’re afraid to leave / Just so you know – I’m gonna break your heart” sung mostly accompanied by an electric piano and guitar. Without question, this is an almost archetypical track that will strike a familiar chord with the usual suspects on both sides of this romantic dilemma…..

When all is said and done, these are fine songs, although (except for the title song) they sound more like well-made demos than finished tracks. Of course, there’s something to be said for the less-is-more school of production when dealing with the foibles of love relationships, which Williams often does. Chances are, One of Those Days might just make your day.

Tagged as: Joy Williams, One of Those Days

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