Faye Williams is a name you may have heard percolating around the Columbus scene over the last several months. She has a strong online presence, where her quirky sense of style and friendliness lends itself to familiarity and openness. 

Where many pop stars may seem brooding or distant, she seems less like a musical artist and more like a friend. While she cut her teeth as a solo artist, she’s put together a full band and is looking to make her mark not only locally, but across the world.

Faye calls the band’s sound Mystical Indie Pop Rock, which could honestly point in any direction. Her YouTube page has many cover songs, ranging from Halsey and Staind to Kacey Musgraves. At first listen, you might be tempted to peg her as a country singer. Her voice has a unique twang, but she also embodies the spirits of singers like Tori Amos and Ingrid Michaelson, with a slight drawl.

As for Faye (the band), they recently played their first show together, and dropped their first single God. The song was recorded at Space Canoe Records, who have also worked with the likes of Antioch, West Taylor, and Lindsay Jordan. The band also features Anthony Crawford on bass and Brad Caulley on drums.

The song features a distorted guitar opening, joined by an acoustic guitar and folksy drum beat. The music feels upbeat and catches your ear quickly, almost as if it were cut out of the 1980s before Faye’s unique voice joins the musicians.

Lyrically, the song appears to be written from the point of a jilted lover who dealt with a man that thought himself too big for his boots. “He promised me a world of fame, where only he holds the key” really stuck with me the first time I heard the track. The words indeed seem like they could be written by an Alanis Morrisette or Adele in that regard.

Each of the verses within the song seems to paint a tale about a different man who wanted to run the protagonists life, as long as she gives into them. The chorus line of “He’ll make you believe that he’s the only one you need” seems to dwell on manipulation, to the point of gas-lighting and demeaning the worth of others.

For being a musically upbeat song, the lyrics are far more dense than you might initially expect, and the song takes a few listens to really catch on to what is happening. I can definitely appreciate her approach at shining a light on people not being as great as they seem to be.

I feel like the track is an intriguing choice to introduce the band to the world. As a solo artist, Faye did most of her work with an acoustic guitar, so it’s good to hear different layers to her music. And there are definitely many guitar and vocal layers in this song, almost overwhelming the lo-fi sound that it seems to be striving for. Curiosity leads me to wonder whether this is the type of sound the she is striving for with the full band, or if she’ll head in a different direction with her second single, due out soon.

Faye’s next show will be at Rambling House on January 22, and she was also chosen to perform at this year’s Steadfast Festival, on March 14 at Strongwater Food and Spirits.

Faye – God