Favor – Pisgah (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

Pisgah is the musical project of Brittney Jenkins, Southern American–born, but for the last decade calling London her home, and ahead of her debut album to come, _Faultlines,_she gives us “Favor”, a single that walks deftly between several sonic worlds.

As Pisgah, she proves that she has a knack for alchemy—digging through sounds and styles, scenes and genres —to find the perfect musical elements to blend together to form her music. Here, we encounter a dream-pop shimmer cocooning the track, but beneath it beats the heart of well-crafted indie-pop. That balance—gloss and groove, haze and hook—keeps “Favor” from either floating away into shoegazy abstraction or collapsing into the same old “cooler-than-thou, thrift-store chic” indie formula. It is, in short, the best of both worlds.

That said, whilst it is a clever blend, what really sells this is what lies at its heart. A great song. It’s as simple as that. Many artists are happy to cover a track that may be found wanting by draping it in beguiling sounds and additional layers, hoping to distract the listener from what isn’t there. And whilst “Favor” is indeed bathed in ethereal sonic light and shimmering sounds, I’m sure it would be just as compelling if Pisgah were strumming it out on a battered old acoustic guitar.

The modern studio offers the music maker all manner of additional tones and textures, musical gimmicks and sonic gizmos, layers and lies, but at the end of the day, it really comes down to one thing. Is this a good song? “Favor” is a great song!

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