Aside from performing with Santah and Grandkids, Chicago’s Vivian McConnell also records under the name V.V. Lightbody, the name of her (piano-playing) grandmother. Drawing on time spent in Spain as well as an appreciation for Brazilian music, McConnell has used the project to create a brand new genre she calls ‘nap-rock’, a collision of folk, dream pop and indie rock that’s filtered through a sunny Latin and Mediterranean prism. The result is something intimate and warm, restrained yet lushly tactile soundscapes which facilitate McConnell’s introspective lyricism.
Not that V.V. Lightbody is a solo endeavour. Indeed, its collaborative nature is made clear in its rich sound, with Daniel Pierson (keys), Matt Carroll (drums), Michael Harmon (bass), Evan Metz (guitar), Emma Hospelhorn (flute) and Wills McKenna (flute) all providing their talents to shape the songs. The various elements can present an almost jazz-like feel, offering a surreal, constantly-shifting atmosphere that subverts and surpasses the genre conventions.
Following up 2018 full-length debut, Bathing Peach, V.V. Lightbody is back with a brand new single with Acrophase Records, and the nap-rock aesthetic sounds better than ever. “‘Baby, Honestly’ is my ‘snake-in-the-grass’ song,” McConnell explains, “explor[ing] what sinning feels like as a chronic people pleaser.” This background suggests something of the duality present in the track, the delicate and hospitable sound masking a colder, more vicious tone in the themes. As McConnell continues, “[The song] is appropriately two faced: biting lyrics hidden beneath a lush and charming soundscape.
I used to tell the truth
Now I speak in two
Separate voices split
My tongue, venom spitsNow I color black and blue, it’s only my legs that’ll sit this thing through