Merry Christmas Sounds of Oz readers! If your ears need a break from the overplayed Mariah Carey and Wham! Numbers, I’ve got you covered. Wollongong’s Kay Proudlove has released a somewhat more cynical track delving into the more cynical parts of the holiday. “Gift Card” has enough wit and wisdom that it’s not as dour as it seems on paper!
“The inspiration for ‘Gift Card’ came on a day when three separate people told me they couldn’t believe it was nearly Christmas. This was in October. It struck me that it’s something people say every year, which got me thinking about what people go through around Christmas – good and bad,” she explained. “I feel like there’s always this sense of time slipping away and that no one is ever prepared. But it can still be kind of exciting, which is where the lyrics ‘magical and desperate’ come from. There are so many mixed feelings about the festive season and I tried to capture some of those in this song. It’s very much a biographical track and I have definitely attended church straight after Christmas Eve drinks before.”
I hope you all have more of the magic than the stress this Christmas, and that you enjoy the final days of 2018 before another big year of music. If your concert calendar is looking a little bare, don’t worry; Kay Proudlove will play the following shows through the New Year.
31 December 2018 – 19-twenty NYE Party @ Shoalhaven Heads Bowling and Recreation Club, Shoalhaven Heads
6 January 2019 – Summer Meadow Music @ Marakoopa Cafe, Mole Creek
11-13 January 2019 – Cygnet Folk Festival, Cygnet
19 January 2019 – Illawarra Folk Festival, Bulli
23 January 2019 – Rad Bar, Wollongong (with Wolf and Willow + Rob Edwards)