Sam Windley has done it again, delivering a stunningly juxtaposed reflection of corporate anxiety in her latest single Briefcases.
The track is ultimately an anti-corporate ballad carefully veiled behind the rosy patchwork of an indie-rock and folky melody, with a circular vocal sonic and soft instrumentals that give the melody its classic lightness.
In Briefcases, Sam Windley blends a stirring lyrical critique of corporate complacency with the warmth of classic folk-rock instrumentals, offering listeners a layered reflection on the contemporary workforce.
Harking from the Central Coast, Sam Windley’s style is characterised by her candid lyrics and raw, modest vocal style. Briefcases is no exception. Influenced by artists such as Courtney Barnett, Ruby Fields and First, Windley’s music is a uniquely ironic culmination of indie-rock and folk/singer-songwriter stylings that captivates listeners.
Her latest track was developed alongside the talents of Sydney-based producer Billy Otto, who helped craft Windley’s debut single For Real This Time. The song is about the feeling of entrapment within society and in the corporate world, specifically in a desk job. Briefcases is ultimately about fear of the 9-5.
Whilst the track superficially appears to fall into the same temperature as other folk-rock tunes, Windley carefully captures the nuances of her lyrics throughout the song. This then allows the audience to visualise the anxieties that she’s candidly describing.
Carefully placed vocal layering in the chorus, crafts a sonic reflective of mass industrial complacency. The circular melody of the chorus similarly harkens back to the repetition accustomed to corporate employment, which fuels most of the singer’s fears. All of which serve to sonically embody Windley’s anxieties towards corporate employment and provide an element of connection between the drastically juxtaposed lyrics and melody.
The humility of the tune itself almost veils how candid and sobering the lyrics actually are, masking an anti-corporate anthem with the accessibility of a warming folk-rock melody. This could very well be reflective of Windley’s own perceptions of 9 – 5 work, with blinding monotony continually masked by the progressions of everyday life.
Briefcases is a masterclass in lyrical and sonic juxtaposition, breathing a new life into the ever-growing catalogue of anti-corporate anthems.
