Mary Richard – Déjà Vu (2020)
Mary Richard is capturing the feeling of ‘Déjà Vu’ in her debut release. This single works through the blissful yet whimsical feeling of meeting someone but having a sense that you have always known them or loved them before. Each stage of this experience is highlighted by the soaring strings and synths of the single. As this is an experience we have all felt at some point, the beauty and surprise of the single are highly relatable.
While this is Richard’s debut single, she is no newcomer to the music world. She started performing at age 7 and by 17 she had played countless shows. Using the experience and skills honed over the years, she has crafted her unique sound drawing on influences including Stevie Nicks and Joni Mitchell. The power and vulnerability of her music will leave you wanting more.
‘Déjà Vu’ takes you by surprise in the opening with soaring strings and pattering synths. The opening forms that initial emotion of meeting someone new who you are sure you already know. These opening notes continue throughout the song and are accompanied by shuffling beats. The melody has a number of layers that work together to form an almost dream-like landscape. There is a fogginess at times like that niggling feeling at the back of your mind, but this gives way to a sweeping bliss created by the richness of the instrumental melding.
Richard’s vocals come in as this wispy and whimsical thread. There is an easiness to her vocals that wrap you in a soft blanket. She has a wonderful folky quality to her performance that enhances the dreamy feeling of the track. Her performance is also full of emotion from surprise to questioning to an acceptance of the blissful feelings of déjà vu. The backing vocals on the chorus add to the dreamy feeling of the single.
Mary Richard captures the blissful yet whimsical feeling of ‘Déjà Vu’ and the sense of knowing someone you have just met in her debut. There is a vulnerability to her vocals which are wrapped up in a dreamy soundscape that flows like a cotton river over you.
Find out more about Mary Richard on her Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
