Review: Bebe Stockwell’s Volume 1

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Bebe Stockwell‘s Volume 1
Review by Louise Geri

Bebe Stockwell in the Volume 1 photoshoot – photo by Katherine Goguen

The most shocking thing about Bebe Stockwell’s second album Volume 1 might not be her bold claim that when love is right, you just know it, or her preference for the more temperate New England climate over the always warm Los Angeles climate. Rather, your biggest surprise might be learning that Stockwell is 24 years old.

Stockwell’s voice provided great company as I sewed while listening to the album for the first time. Because of her lower-pitched voice leaning surprisingly far into classical singing style for a commercial artist, I automatically assumed she was middle-aged.

But no, Stockwell is just really good at placing the Joni-Mitchell-Joan-Baez-Noah-Kahan Americana-folk sound into the mouth of an old soul. The opening track, “When You Know, ”reminds me of “The Story” by Brandi Carlile, “Whole Lotta Little” by Emily Ann Roberts, and “California” by Joni Mitchell. It feels like a letter from a wise elder to whom you ask for advice on whether you’re marrying the right person.

Bebe Stockwell playing Bumbershoot last August, – photo by Kirk Stauffer for Guitar Girl Magazine

“Wild Love,” upon opening, makes me think of the Highwaymen. Following a humming intro that could be construed as either ominous or adventurous, Stockwell sings about a lover reminding her of an animal – albeit a slightly inappropriate one, “You took the lead then showed me your teeth, said the sex we have is incredible.” Music in the Americana genre is known for being the home of a lot of protest music, particularly in the 60s and 70s. In a way, this slightly rash line pays homage to the Beat generation rejection of politeness culture.

Stockwell brings Wesley Schultz in for “Ant Farm.” The lyricism is stunning, “I was jealous of the dreams that kept you alive.” The song is full of nostalgia for a rural childhood love, reminiscent of many old country songs.

“Hard to Find,” while sweet and harmonious, is a little too happy-go-lucky. When the chorus kicks in, driven by oohs, I shamefully find myself imagining a Windex commercial. The lyrics are not lacking, however. “Undress my secrets, kiss my ugly” is a lovely moment of personification.

I’m transported to Noah Kahan’s “Maine” and “Stick Season” upon hearing the intro of “New England Regret.” Stockwell mourns her upbringing in the northeastern US. Her discussion of wholesome small-town details like everyone knowing each other’s names screams Stars Hollow. It makes me laugh, as someone west coast-born and raised, when she understandably frowns upon the passive aggression common in my neck of the woods.

“Going to the Country” feels like a moment out of Kacey Musgraves’ 2024 Deeper Well album. Stockwell has the energy of a wood nymph, “I’m sick and tired of feeling like nature doesn’t exist.” The song joins modern ways of life with the human need to be grounded, using, “My job, it is remote” to justify leaving for somewhere quieter.

Bebe Stockwell playing Showbox SoDo last October, photo by Kirk Stauffer for Guitar Girl Magazine

Stockwell leans into pop-country with “Adeline,” sharing a general topic with “Jolene” by Dolly Parton, and similarly being in a minor key. The song even contains a hint of bluegrass (high lonesome harmonies, perhaps?) The lyricism is blunt and strong, “You don’t love me like you used to, though you say you do/tell me that and look me in the eyes.” She almost wails “Adeline” as she riffs the name in despair over the possibility of another woman.

Singer/songwriter Grace Enger, known in the Gracie Abrams-sphere of pop, joins Stockwell for the closer, “Look At Us Now.”Enger’s more commercial voice provides an interesting complement to Stockwell’s classical. I wish the entire song would keep up the more stable melody of the pre-chorus, but Stockwell instead continues the ooh-ing in the choruses, which has lost the power it held in earlier songs, having already appeared in “Hard to Find” and “Going to the Country.” Thankfully, this is a genre where lyricism is prioritized and therefore effective no matter your melodic preferences. The hook (which is just the title) is heartwarming. The final verse touches on the dangerous humans-are-machines mentality, “Oh, tired Sophie, do you have to work two jobs? Your back’s all tied in knots, I swear to God you work too hard.” It’s a sweet way to close the record.

Volume 1 is the perfect title for this album. There’s no groundbreaking message, merely a feeling. It feels like a collection of old folk tales with the overarching theme of a foggy morning in the rolling hills, sipping tea and watching goats roam a pasture. Listen to Volume 1 by Bebe Stockwell on all streaming platforms now.


Bebe Stockwell in the Volume 1 photoshoot – photo by Katherine Goguen

Kurt Vile & the Violators with Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band at the 5th Avenue Theatre

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Kurt Vile & the Violators and Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band played a show to warm the cockles of the most jaded guitar freak at Seattle’s beautiful 5th Avenue Theatre Friday night. While the music ran the gamut from slacker noise rock to surrealist honky tonk, blazing guitars and harmonious feedback were the twin unifying themes of the evening. It was a night to tempt the shyest of air guitarists to strap on their game face and strike their most valiant pose.

Philadelphia’s Vile first came on my radar 20ish years ago as lead guitarist of the War On Drugs. A founding member of that band (along with Adam Granduciel), Vile struck out on his own in 2008 with his first solo effort, ‘Constant Hitmaker’. 18 years and 12 albums later (not counting his outstanding collaboration with Courtney Barnett, ‘Lotta Sea Lice’), the ever laconic master of tuneful guitar mayhem released ‘Philadelphia’s been good to me’ a couple months ago. The collection is a high point in a remarkably consistent catalog of releases and holds up well to repeated listenings (as I can happily attest). The guitarist and bandleader drew heavily from the new album during his set Friday and I found the tunes to be even more effective and compelling in a live setting.

Friday’s set dove straight into the new album with the wistful instrumental ‘Red Room Dub’ before dropping into one of my favorite cuts, ‘Zoom 97’. Vile took a brief detour to 2022’s ‘(watch my moves)’ for the joyful ‘Hey Like a Child’ before coming right back to his most recent effort for the lovely ‘Rock o’ Stone’. Vile conveys a slightly goofy yet utterly amiable presence onstage, half wide-eyed, naive child and half shuffling stoner. Both his recorded work and live show ebb and flow comfortably between shimmering pastoral folk rock to harder edged, heavily Crazy Horse influenced electric workouts. The Violator’s set was on point from the first note to the last and was received enthusiastically by the large crowd. The moment that will stick with me going forward occurred during the set closing finale ‘Waken On a Pretty Day’. I had drifted to the back of the hall where there was a bit more elbow room for me to get my old guy shuffle on as Vile and his band mates tucked into a heavy guitar jam that would not have been out of place at a Neil Young & Crazy Horse show. As the band began to soar (with the crowd responding in kind) I found myself viewing the proceedings onstage between the upraised ‘devil horn’ hand gestures of the clearly blissed out hesher dude immediately in front of me. It was an image that perfectly captured my feelings during the most memorable moments of a great set.

Friday’s show was opened by an act with whom I was not previously familiar, Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band. Suffice to say, I went to the gig expecting to love Kurt Vile and the Violators (and I did!) but it was Ryan Davis that delivered the welcome surprises of the evening for this music fan. Davis and his outstanding band exist in a unique and unlikely space that somehow combines authentic honky tonk cred with ironic, bordering on surrealist/existentialist lyrics, and caution to the wind, almost Sonic Youth-esque (or, at least, Wilco-esque) guitar freakouts. A friend who I ran into between bands described them as “George Jones meets Sun Ra”. If that description doesn’t entirely nail Davis’ vibe it certainly nods toward his mix and match approach to creating a sound and form that borrows from disparate elements to create a unique sound and experience. I’ve since backtracked to familiarize myself with the band’s most recent release, ‘New Threats From the Soul’ and I’m now a newly minted and enthusiastic fan of Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band. I will absolutely be in attendance the next time they visit the Pacific Northwest.

Show Review and Photos: Holly Humberstone @ Showbox

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Holly Humberstone @ Showbox – 6/24/2026
Review by Louise Geri, Photos by Kirk Stauffer

Downtown Seattle was already unusually crowded for a Wednesday as people anticipated the World Cup. But in a sea of sports fans, a group stuck out: young adults, primarily women and gay male couples, waiting to enter Holly Humberstone’s Seattle stop at the Showbox on the Cruel World Tour.

Humberstone debuted during quarantine and released the successful EPs Falling Asleep At The Wheel (2020) and The Walls Are Way Too Thin (2021). Her audience expanded when she joined Olivia Rodrigo on tour in 2022. I found her right as the tour began, not long before the release of her debut album Paint My Bedroom Black (2023). I was entranced by the electricity of her voice and the sharpness of her words. This April, she released the Cruel World album and has since embarked on a headlining tour of North America.

The venue was almost full at 8 pm when opener Leyla Ebrahimi took the stage. She wore jeans and a T-shirt with the neck cut out.  This opening slot followed her debut EP Planet You Forgot Me. Ebrahimi’s eyes were wide with joy as she greeted the audience. She growled to synth production and engaged with her electric guitarist, producer Shane Pielocik. I wondered how rock production might suit her powerful voice. Ebrahimi wished the crowd a happy pride month, introducing songs about sapphic relationships “I’m Sorry Maria” and “I Know You’re the Moon”. A photographer onstage filmed the crowd dancing before pivoting so Ebrahimi could stare and point into the barrel. She exited her set with a hip bump with Pielocik and a photo with the crowd.

Interestingly, as Humberstone took the stage at 9 pm, the usual concert venue scent, faint of weed and beer, was replaced by the distinct smell of a Brandy Melville store. Wearing a dress that screamed Free People meets Reformation, Humberstone was dainty and powerful. Her band members had diverse style: her female drummer wearing a summer going-out-fit, her male electric guitarist a skirt, and her keyboardist/bassist a flat cap. It made for a great “come as you are” sentiment.

Humberstone’s eyes were so sincere as she sang that it was almost sultry, and therefore completely on brand to the “Cruel World” album. The album is seductive at times, but also very raw and wise. Beginning with songs from the recent release, she opened with “Make It All Better”, cupping the microphone with her hands. Fans screamed the “To Love Somebody” lyrics, “It always works, it always does!” She interacted with the audience, making eye contact with a man flitting his fingers to a riff in the chorus of “Cruel World”. She held her hands back flirtatiously as the lights turned a predictable purple for “Blue Dream” and ended the song with the first of many hand hearts.

The 2022 hit “The Walls Are Way Too Thin”, squeezed between Cruel World tracks, prompted many cameras. Between older throwbacks including her debut single “Deep End”, she reminisced on how far she’s come, “The novelty will never wear off”.

The run of “Beauty Pageant”, “White Noise”, “Falling Asleep At The Wheel” and “Red Chevy” was the highlight of the setlist. As Humberstone sang the first song, a ballad about being a young people-pleasing woman onstage, the whole crowd was screaming the words. Interestingly, I most clearly heard men singing. “White Noise”, the ultimate crying-in-the-club banger, gained a new life in my head. She held the mic out to the crowd on “Falling Asleep At The Wheel”. During “Red Chevy”, everyone screamed, “Kiss me like you f***ing mean it”. She simmered down with “Drunk Dialing” and “Dive” before the encore.

Upon returning to the stage, she and her electric guitarist, nestled together, played the acoustic ballad “Lucy”. Humberstone described the song, dedicated to her little sister, as one of her favorites on her latest album.

The finale was “Scarlett”. Humberstone played an electric guitar colored accordingly. I hurt myself screaming, “I cried all the summer away, oh, you left me waiting on a heartbreak”. Humberstone and her electric guitarist took different sides of the stage to display their prowess to the enchanted crowd. As Humberstone exited the stage, she held up a hand heart, handed a guitar pick to a fan, and took a gift.

I left the show on the verge of happy tears as the crowd began the slow organized trudge out of the venue. My ears ringing, throat burning, eyes wide, and nose filled with the scent of sweat and Brandy Melville, I yelled to my friend, “That was life-changing!”

Buy tickets to Holly Humberstone’s remaining shows on the Cruel World Tour here.

Holly Humberstone – Photos by Kirk Stauffer

Leyla Ebrahimi – Photos by Kirk Stauffer

Song Review: “Weight On Me” by Debbie

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“Weight On Me” by Debbie
Song Review by Louise Geri

“Weight On Me” cover art

Rising British R&B singer Debbie released a new single, “Weight On Me” on June 12th, following a new record deal with Warner Records, a Brit Award nomination, and an opening slot with Sienna Spiro.

The song first debuted on A COLORS SHOW, a platform where artists perform songs in a minimalistic setting with a monochromatic color background that directs listeners attention to the artist’s raw talent. The production, by Luis Navidad, is relaxed. It’s reduced to only piano, light percussion, featuring drums played by Femi Koleoso of the Ezra Collective, and vocal stacks. Debbie’s singing does all the work that heavy production might do for other artists. Her vocals are cutting, and you can hear her British accent peeking through.

The lyrics, also simple, convey the trials and tribulations of attempting to let go of someone. Most relatable, “I’m going through the motions of holding and letting you go, it’s a weight on me.” Debbie replays memories and paints a gutting picture in the second verse with, “Pain through the window, watching you leave” and “They say time is a healer/It’s not healing me now, with my head to the ground.”

“Weight On Me” is an impressive lead-up to Debbie’s upcoming album she’s currently recording with Warner Records. Listen to “Weight On Me” on all streaming platforms now.

Debbie – photo by Shenell Kennedy