I’ve always taken issue with the term girl band. Another one is Female-artist as if their gender defines who they are or what kind of artist they are. I’m not here to argue semantics but you gotta admit, it’s a little weird, isn’t it? That sort of bleeds over into genre too. If you look close enough, even the most powerful figures in the industry are categorized by their sex. I get a lot of PR emails and even there, I see them lead with it. So by that logic, a woman is a certain kind of artist and their respective genre is only important after that. When I received a vinyl copy of Bad For Business, the new album from Katie Schecter on Soul Step Records, I went in with an open mind.
The unspoken genre that always comes to mind with female artists is pop. But Katie Schecter isn’t pop.
Next is R&B. Ehh, she goes beyond that. Is Schecter is rock n’ roll? Not really. Already through my first playthrough, I couldn’t pin her to a particular, distinctive genre. We’re both off to a great start! If you’ve read even a percentage of my reviews, I’m always down for anyone or anything that subverts the expected!
The album’s title track has a retro vibe and tweed-distorted guitar but isn’t the least bit archaic. “Mind Over Body” flirts with a synthetic string arrangement and a bit of honkey-tonk stomp rhythm, but it’s the furthest thing from country-western. “Concrete Angels” and the closing track “Don’t Tread Of Me” (my personal favorite track) are the closest the record gets to ballads, but never get mopey, sappy, or overly romantic.
The fact of the matter is, Schecter is all of those genres while being none at the same time.
She is as familiar as she is unique and that has the most to do with her artistry. Bad For Business is its own thing in a genreless neighborhood where the likes of Angel Olsen and Sharon Van Etten would probably be Schecter’s neighbors but wouldn’t feel comfortable inviting her to the block party. That’s not to say Schecter isn’t out there being avant-garde or pretentious, but it means she is an artist in every sense of the definition!
With so many twists and turns in the subdivision, one would think Schecter would get lost or disoriented. But by the time she hits her stride (about 20 seconds into the opening track), she gets you home safe and right on time! Katie Schecter is an artist that isn’t defined by a single genre, sex, or orientation. She is in fact, an artist. As we inch closer and closer to the end of 2021, I have absolutely no problem with logging Bad For Business somewhere close to my favorite album of the year.
Bad For Business is available on vinyl now at Soul Step Records.
