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Photo: Triana Hernandez

The definition of the soul has spurred endless philosophic, creative, and reverent conversations, frustrating and exasperating the most profound intellects. Musically, nearly ironically, it’s about releasing the fears of your conscious self and diving into an unfiltered version of yourself.

WILSN, the moniker of Melbourne-based Shannon Busch, has always had a musically obsessive soul and a love for classically emotive musical narratives expressed as soul itself. Spurred by an early interest in Aretha Franklin, a parental insistence on piano lessons, and a self-described band geek childhood, WILSN settled into the songwriting craft by 20 and hasn’t looked back since. Now with a new album around the corner and a sound settled into the truest version of herself, it’s hard not to see WILSN as in her groove.

The cache of great soul tunes is often evidenced by their timeless nature, a sound so familiar it feels like your grandparents heard it through an FM radio generations ago. Of the genre, WILSN states, “Soul music never goes out of fashion because it’s pure, people aren’t trying to be cool or follow a trend…  It’s all about a great melody, a great beat and harmony that moves you and makes you feel something. In today’s landscape of artists trying so hard to do something different often for the sake of being different, it’s nice to just engage with the human voice in an unadulterated way.”

On “Those Days Are Over,” WILSN delivers a powerful, “personal pump up song” that fits right into the catalog of Stax or Motown records. It is a song worthy of the inspirations it echoes, including its amicable delivery. The track begins with an intro that creeps in with an expressive piano and vocal line, takes hold with a powerful pop from the rhythm section, and settles down into a storytelling verse with vocal flairs that speaks to the larger-than-life diva inspiration Aretha may have provided.

The visualizer for “Those Days Are Over” is equally adept at being both classic and contemporary, a concept that WILSN had in her mind from the onset, describing the song as such, “It’s about trusting yourself, going with your gut and really believing you can do the thing you set out to do.” Despite her songs not always being self-evident as a visual concept, this immediacy aided by director Triana Hernandez was a mind meld between the sonic and video effort, a mirror of demeanor and impact. As a deeply personal song, the dance and choreography have this contorted but elastic look, a dimension of evaluation and evolution. The narrative of “Those Days Are Over” is perfectly captured in each frame and step, replete with monochromatic, natural lighting that hints at some of WILSN’s gospel roots.

Wrestling with your soul is often the fate of artists, but with WILSN, finally settling on the sound of her soul feels like a perfect fit, and if the days of her being ill at ease with her sound are over, we are all in for a beautiful generational gift.

Watch the “Those Days Are Over” visualizer below: