One Little Plane

by Pete Charles

Flying through the eye of the storm

"For all the sunny images, you could be forgiven for thinking that Bint lives life in a cotton-candy bubble, but the stories in each song are tinged, every now and then, with the barest suggestion of sadness."

Kathryn Bint, the pixie-like songstress behind One Little Plane, believes in a different world. It might be an imaginary one, where all life forms float as sleepy orbs of light through time and space, resigned to their fate, or it might be the one you and I live in (but never find an accurate way of expressing) where all we have are memories and expectations. Whatever that world is, she sees it as a child would, through rose-tinted glasses, and questions it with quiet, yet incisive wonder.

She lays bare this wonder throughout her debut album ‘Until’. The acoustic riff of second track ‘Nobody Out There’ embodies the wild, intoxicating sound of Jefferson Airplane only with Grace Slick’s acid-addled banshee wail replaced with Bint’s sweet, sun-drenched tones. So soft is her voice that it does, at times, actually sound like that of a child. Recent single ‘The Sunshine Kid’ is four minutes of spirited summer pop and as good a love song as you’re likely to hear all year. The lyrics practically dance all over your heart: “I know that life is grim / but mostly it’s just a pain in the ass / and all that I can do / is to add up the kindnesses I get from you.”

Virtually all the tracks are played on the acoustic guitar, but there are numerous tweaks which keep it interesting and add to the whole vibe of the album. The minimalist children’s orchestra percussion (think triangle, rainstick, etc) on the title track simply augments the feeling of innocence. ‘The Lotus Flower’ is just a rhythmic drum beat and multi-layered vocals whose effect is strangely hypnotic, giving full emphasis to Bint’s voice.

These mini experiments in percussion break up the album nicely, but there’s no doubt that her ability to craft simple, heartfelt melodies is the overriding factor here. For all the sunny images, you could be forgiven for thinking that Bint lives life in a cotton-candy bubble, but the stories in each song are tinged, every now and then, with the barest suggestion of sadness and you often get the feeling that these are not the observations of a deluded optimist, but those of someone who has known emotional pain, but is channelling it in the right directions. She sings in ‘Summer Stream’: “the sky was so damn dark / that I thought I’d fall right through / ‘cept I stumbled all the way into you.”

The recent influx of singer/songwriters currently dominating the UK charts may overshadow One Little Plane’s rise to stardom (let’s face it, she’d probably squeak like a mouse and cower in a corner if she came within slapping distance of Amy Winehouse). In any case, OLP is in a different league altogether. This is the sound of someone who has chosen to deal with all the unfairness and misery life can bring with a shrug, a sigh and a song.

Be the first to comment on this article