"It's Not Your Movie" by Abz Winter

Abz Winter is back with a new single entitled "It's Not Your Movie" which comes out on 9^th September which was co-written by & produced by Imad Salhi and is the follow up to her ‘Just Wanna Be Me' EP.

Something of a musical development for Abz, the song has a distinctively different sonic feel to it compared with her previous work.

Though still eminently danceable, the arrangement has a much spikier edge to it: she describes it as "pop punk" and with its more conventional rock instrumentation with guitar & drums emphasised, it moves her away from the funkier early singles into somewhere darker yet retaining her customary brightness of personality over the increased clamour.

People often comment on Abz's voice & rightly so, but it's worth stating that with "It's Not Your Movie" she demonstrates that she can effortlessly sing on top of a loud backing: and the word "effortlessly" is not carelessly used. Abz has a big voice but thankfully (and I'm sure her work with Gemma Leahy helped her with this) never grandstands it: there is no bellowing to stay on top of the mix nor (and she deserves credit for this) does Abz indulge in needless & self indulgent vocal acrobatics as some others do, to show off her skills for their own sake rather than serving the song. It's always about the latter & I think this grounded approach is part of her appeal to many of her growing audience.

As for her embrace of the punk side of music, that sits well with another of her acerbic lyrics (this time she has moved beyond relating or responding to the experiences of friends to her own work and issues with a (ex)boss which raised her ire). In fact, I gather Abz is evolving her act in the direction of working with a full band and this release rather demands one to be heard live in all its glory: her earlier work, though not replicated precisely onstage could be adapted to excellent version with just Abz & a solo guitarist such as Ian Bourne or Will Ball. 

You can catch Abz live at Fifteen in Leamington tomorrow (Saturday August 27^th) and at Godiva Festival on Saturday 3^rd September at 1700 on the Acoustic Stage & again on Sunday 4^th September at 1430 on the BBC CWR Stage accompanied by Will Ball on each occasion.