Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
To live with wisdom is arguably the point of our existence; and yet so few people truly engage with that mindset, preferring instead to live vicariously, happy to be spontaneous but with no purpose in their short walk through the woods of life.
It is only perhaps when that spontaneity is halted, paused as the world turns with a miracle of life or the sudden damnation of a society on the fringes of panic, disillusion, and bad decisions, that they see the wise choices in the rear-view mirror and the pain of regret that comes with it.
Regret is part of current times, those who Lives Wisely often are inflected with the pain with a harder edge, and it comes with no surprise that the creative soul seems to suffer the most; however, in such fury and tempests comes resolve, and with charm and elegance in a collection of songs that do much to convey the emotions of the artist, Sylvie Lewis reveals the joy and the heartache that has guided her as the details of a post-pandemic world is revealed.
In her first album release since 2015, Sylvie Lewis’ Lives Wisely connects with the events of the past few years in such a way that it almost takes on the imagery of an intricate diary entry, the flowing narrative of loss, grief, and hope explored with distinction.
The fortuitous meeting of minds in Brighton with Jonah Tolchin paved the way for the album to take shape, and whilst morning the loss of her friend and producer, Richard Swift, it is in such moments of serendipity that we find the open door to a great sense of healing.
Across tracks such as Famous To Me, More Lies Than Christmas, the observation of the social phenomenon of Ghosting which is in itself a deplorable act of ostracisation and is cowardly in You Give Silence A Bad Name, the seductive air of Make You Love Me, and the forceful pleasure in the finale in I’m Going To Leave You With A Love Song, Sylvie Lewis paints a scene of a period of time which we may have come to accept, but that in which the grief runs deeper than we can imagine.
Exist in the moment, or be one who Lives Wisely, the choice surely is abundantly clear.
Sylvie Lewis’ Lives Wisely is out now and available via Clover Music Group.
Ian D. Hall