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Archive for singer songwriter
Introducing… Ian Narcisi
Ian Narcisi – whose going to quickly become the man that plays every instrument in the world, is a new singer/songwriter whose songs just take off into some ad-lib freefall of progressive rock. Here’s a video of Ian making his new EP.
Introducing… Lila Rose
Welcome to the world of Lila Rose – a fantastic singer/songwriter with some interesting sounds to pique your ears with.
Rachel Sermanni – “Black Currents” Review
Hotly tipped new artist Rachel Sermanni is starting to make waves with her new EP “Black Currents” which as any good EP should, opens windows to Rachel’s musical world.
“Breath Easy” is a delicate acoustic guitar song with washes of piano and strings that breeze in and out throughout. Rachel’s vocals are a mixture of the simple purity of Emiliana Torrini and the husky undertones of Sarah Blasko with music matching a mixture of the two as well. “The Fog” is a darker, more immediate track that has a surging power in the choruses and an eerie pulsation of the guitar in the verses. The pizzicato string arrangement is kooky and willow wisp ooh’s evoke a dream state gone wrong. It’s a fantastic track. Title track “Black Currents” mixes the previous two tracks to provide a mature sound for someone so young that ebbs and flows and waltz along effortlessly before “Song to a Fox” utilises some minimal ambience and keyboard effects to perfectly emphasis the emptiness and space between us all in a sombre closer.
Rachel Sermanni falls perfectly into the acoustic rock female movement that is already crowded – but there’s always room for more. Each song is has tenderness and a bite to it and also a layer of depth. Hopefully Rachel’s talent will shine through to plenty of new listeners and we have witnessed the birth of a great musician taking flight.
Bic Runga – “Belle” Review
Bic Runga returned quietly with her 4th studio album “Belle” at the end of the last year which still hasn’t reached the UK shores yet but is available to get on digital download from online retailers. This time Runga is happy and it shows in a light and melodic album.
“Tiny Little Piece of my Heart” is a hark back to the 60′s with rough round the edges percussion and plinky pianos – verging on Mo-town! Paired up with lead single “Hello, Hello” which has such a joyously infectious chorus, you can feel a rush of new energy flowing over you. I enjoyed Birds, but it was a restrained and delicate for the most part. Here things are simple, straightforward and direct. Happy chords, strong vocals and little motifs hidden away to discover in background instruments. “If You Really Do” is a bass heavy track that’s had a lot of the reverb sucked out of it. Bic’s vocals here are simply delicious as the sweetest oozes through the speakers.
“The Girls Prepared for War” is very Bowie-esque with its spacey guitars and echoing vocals over a slightly psychedelic rock track. There’s some interesting chord patterns here too as guitars drone and slide from ear to ear. “Everything is Beautiful and New” follows in a similar vein with a seductive acoustic track with a mellow ambivalence to it. Almost like a laid back Trust in Me. “Good Love” is a great mixture of the previous two tracks more seductive alluring but deadly mood with the more upbeat opening trio of tracks. There’s some fun experimenting with some keyboards on this track which see’s Bic veering off to new territory too.
“Devil on Tambourine” is a fun hark back to electric guitar led 60′s psychedelic folk but it fades out before it’s really finished and deserves a bit longer on air. Equally brief is the title track “Belle” which is a harp/keyboard/vocal track in French. It’s completely different to anything else on the album but is utterly enchanting and luscious beautiful. It paves the way for more experimental “Darkness is All Around Us” which has an epic sway to it. There’s a lot of bleeding chanting la’s, phasing keyboard synths flying all over the place and a marching band track. We end up back full circle with most bluesy we’ve seen Bic with “Music and Light” with thick piano, finger clicks and hushed vocals.
“Belle” isn’t an album to break out of new traditions. It’s very much in a similar vein to Drive and Beautiful Collision but there’s a confidence, an ease and a warm familiarity to it. Warm, seductive and enchanting, Belle is a beautiful album.
Live vault – Peter Bjargo
Peter Bjargo has a new album coming soon. I wonder if this new song shown in 2010 The Cage is on it. Sounds promising (despite what sounds like a sound problem with the vocals here)!
Video Vault – Bic Runga
Bic Runga’s 4th full album Belle arrived at the end of 2011 but hasn’t made it to UK shores. Still, everyone can get it on digital download and this time things are more upbeat! Welcome to Hello, Hello!
Utada Hikaru – “Passion” Review
Utada Hikaru, queen of the vocal tracks due to the general success of Hikari / Simple & Clean returned to the Kingdom Hearts and VGM fray with a brand new song to tantalize us for the upcoming Kingdom Hearts II soundtrack. The offering is a 2 track single entitled “Passion” which is available with just the tracks or with an additional DVD containing the music video.
“Passion” is frankly one of the most captivating vocal songs I have heard in an extremely long time. Starting with soft backing vocals and electronic pulses the song rip roars into a mass drum fest – almost verging on pop tribal and it beats out a stomping stadium anthem chorus to Utada’s sublime vocals which are in both Japanese, and if you reverse it, you’ll catch many lines of English too. The verses are equally rocky and edgy and the whole sound is a much more mature and darker mood which seems to suit the overall look and feel of the Kingdom Hearts game too. The song then finally reaches up a notch for a climax of guitars, drums, electronics and bleeding vocals to return to its very soft beginnings. Amazing. While I must admit I am a huge follower of Utada Hikaru’s previous works since hearing Hikari and going onto hearing Colors – I must state that I have rarely had my breath taken away by a song so easily.
That’s the single version which also appears on the album Ultra Blue. Also on the single we have “Passion ~after the Battle~” which takes away every element of the single version except the vocals and then adds a soft and simplistic piano backing. Beautiful, although the warped vocals can distract at times, it really takes the same song and adds a completely different spin. Once the song has gone through its paces it then strikes up the guitar and carefully goes through a karaoke version of half the song again to finish off which I believe is quite unique – almost like the tune you’d get after you hear the victory fanfare in a game and you’re adding up your exp. points! Clever stuff if you look at the title me thinks!
Now if you have bought the CD+DVD version (as I did) you’ll also get a separate DVD with the music video on which involves anime Utada, lots of drum banging, even more horses and even more dancing kachinas! A visual spectacular but those of you after Kingdom Hearts footage will be left disappointed.
I’d recommend this single to absolutely anyone without hesitation, a masterpiece!
St Vincent – “Strange Mercy” Review
St Vincent’s third full length album came smashing in at the end of 2011 and made a huge impact for me. Perfectly mistimed, mistuned, ugly and boisterous yet full of quirks and beauty within. It’s one of the best audio messes I’ve heard in age.
Opening with “Chloe in the Afternoon” we’re given heavy production, awkward drum beats, wavy guitars and shuffling melodies that are both catchy and eerie at the same time. St Vincent’s vocals are sublime too. Like much of the album, there’s an overlying arc and melody that hits on the opening listen and then you find several other melodies hidden away on further investigation and it’s what makes Strange Mercy as a whole, such a compelling album. Single “Cruel” (with a great music video) is about a straight as they come with a simple hook for a chorus line but the verses and codas are just free-falling angelic flourishes. It’s big, brash, overdriven and great.
“Cheerleader” is a lethargic grind in the best possible way. Lazy faded guitars and held back vocal delivery serves well for the big bursts of bleeding pyrotechnics for a chorus. The beat is almost like a stomping a foot to protest exactly that St Vincent doesn’t want to cheer lead anymore! “Surgeon” is more relaxed with a lot of 70/80′s synth work with some extra funky electric piano swirls. There’s a noise of a vocal/keyboard combination that sounds slightly like a choir that runs throughout the album but here it is used a lot to great effect.
“Northern Lights” is a great rock out track with some fantastic lyrics that I can really relate to. This is the freak out song of the album with crazy solo’s and frantic vocals. The title track “Strange Mercy” is the first quiet track on the album with a clunky drum beat and some lonely spacey keyboard works floating over airy guitars. St Vincent uses her light voice to great effect with precision too. “Neutered Fruit” has some excellent guitar flexing throughout and a real funky track. Not the most catchiest but it holds a different space to the rest with its more minimal approach for the vast majority of the song before it’s a huge finale.
“Champagne Year” is a spacey track that is held by ethereal ambience, humming bass and a kick beat for the first half before other instruments join. It’s very floaty and dreamy. “Dilettante” has a production where all the fuzz and echo is taken away, almost like the life has been sucked out the music and sounds completely different to everything else on the record. The rest of the album has a certain sustain on it but not here. “Hysterical Strength” reminds me of the TV show Knight Rider! There’s a certain 80′s cheese to the main theme of it – in a good way! It’s the chugging bass line and processed drums that do it. It is a fun and frantic track which tidies everything up nicely for the closer “Year of the Tiger” which is a classic St Vincent track and perfectly sums up the album with strange production, chords that don’t usually get placed together and time structures that aren’t the norm.
“Strange Mercy” takes three or four listens before you fully appreciate it. A lot of people say why doesn’t she strip down her albums like some of her acoustic performances. I say keep her pushing the boundaries of sonic sounds on record and let her tour acoustically and that way we get both sides of this fantastic artist.
Video Vault – Derek Bishop
Always fun and complete with a cap, Derek Bishop’s latest video is for “Why Hold On”, a bluesy honky tonk tumble through the leaves from his album Resistance is Beautiful.
Zola Jesus – Conatus Review
Sneaking in as #10 in my top albums for 2010 – Zola Jesus was an entirely new singer/songwriter to me late on last year. Conatus was her release that pushed her into spotlight.
The atmospheric “Swords” slides you into her industrial clinic electronic before “Avalanche” introduces you to Zola’s sumptuous voice that cuts like a knife but also it holds a certain depth. Matched with the darkness of the ambient electronic swirling around you it feels like a much darker Cocteau Twin vibe, or should you say Lisa Gerrard is an Angel, Zola would be the devil. The Cocteau vibe hits hardest with “Vessel” where the song flickers and merges on vocal loops over itself into a blurred frenzy in a fantastic stand out single.
“Hikikomori” is a builder track where the keyboards and vocals slowly build over the same few chords and patterns to its triumphant finale before “Ixode”‘s pumping kick beat turns the dark dampness of the depths of Zola’s soul into a mild dance track. You don’t necessarily understand what is being sung but it’s like emotion is being transposed into a vocal sound. It feels strangely enlightening. ”Seekir” takes this one step further with a more straightforward dance-esque track full of lifeless instrumentation and Zola’s flowing voice soaring over the top.
“In Your Nature” for some unknown reason reminds me of a 90′s M-People track Zola style! It’s has a hook that’s actually quite joyous and harmonious and is the first really uplifting song with its strident beat and chords. “Like The Palm of the Burning Handshake” is a very broken and disjointed track which does work well but takes a couple of listens to appreciate it’s very stilted approach to piano playing and keyboard synths. The ending section is very anthemic though and makes up for it if you’re not a fan of that style of song. “Shivers” is a wonderfully constructed track of mini percussive elements of clicks and scrapes before an insanely catchy chorus takes over. A personal highlight.
“Skin” is a very minimal piano / vocal / cymbal shimmering track that is delicate, eerie and beautiful before the album closes with “Collapse” which is like a buzzing healing energy that washes over the rest of the album to try and cleanse all the hurt that you’ve travelled through to get there.
“Conatus” is in many ways a simple album. The songs have a similar sound, structure and poise. It’s the overall feeling and setting of everything though that makes the album far more than the sum of its parts. It’s uplifting, its dank, its a bloodied scream of pain that calls you in like a siren. That is Zola Jesus.
Justin Levinson & The Valcours – “This Side of Me, This Side of You” Review
Justin Levinson & The Valcours is a rather fantastic ensemble album from singer/songwriter Justin Levinson and a full crew of musicians backing him up. It’s a step up from his previous efforts as he moves into a Wainwright territory for the future.
Opener “Water Wears the Rock” is a big statement track. Huge rip-roaring choruses, loud drums, piano solos with guitar overtures and a distinct energy that flows from start to finish. “You Became A Ghost” feels like a cinematic pop rock anthem. There’s enough pauses, drum rolls and elating guitar solos to rival a Queen track. It’s fun and approachable and a good starting point to delve into Levinson. “Love You Goodbye” features Gregory Douglass although they are sparsely used. The song itself feels a little clunky as if its been autotracked a bit too tightly for its own good but the melody itself is pleasant enough.
“Let You Go” features Will Dailey and is a sweet rock ballad with some lovely celtic flairs to it which make it quite whimsy while the cabaret brass added to “Bar Scene” is playful while Justin lazily pub sings his way through the song. There’s an annoying bar chat sample that overbears some of the great brass work however. This is why “I’ll Be Ok” works better as it brings all the rough edges together into a playful, wonderful, joyous explosion of music. It’s just one of those infectious songs it’s hard to offended by or dislike.
A wonderful waltzing duet “I Was So Wrong” features Liz Longley gets its country on. Liz’s vocals remind me of Tanya Donelly and the guitar twangs and harmonicas add to create a distinctly different song from the rest of the album. “Million Tears” is a very traditional rock ballad in the Beatles style and showcases Justin’s vocals at its best with various octaves, styles and ranges. “Say What Your Gonna Say” is very 70′s in many ways with its clean guitars, sultry brass and light choruses that slightly shimmer. The album closes with “If You’re Happier” which is another classic Beatles style ballad.
This Side of Me, This Side of You has excellent production values. Everything feels full and explosive. Justin’s vocals sometimes sound a bit like the weakest part of the package as they get swamped by the big songs and I’ve never been a fan of talky singing which some tracks slip into. However looking passed my own preferences I can see this being a very popular album and one that should elevate Levinson up the ranks as a well rounded and catchy album that doesn’t sell its core values.
Live Vault – Camille
Somehow Camille’s most recent album slipped under my radar – its on order now following these wonderful performances on Jolls Holland
Mars is No Fun
La France
Wet Boy
Kara McGraw – A Christmas Song for Hurricane Irene Recoveree’s
Kara McGraw is a lovely singer / songwriter from Berlin, Vermont, USA and she has penned and released a beautiful track for the farmers recovering from Hurricane Irene. The song is available to download and keep on bandcamp’s wonderful name your price and that money will then go towards their recovery.
The song is available to listen to below.
Amos Releases “Sin Palabras”
In a lovely twist, Tori Amos has released in digital format only an instrumental version of “Night of Hunters”. Removing all the voice, all that’s left is piano and orchestration. It was released without fanfare today in America but strangely holds an April 2012 release for us in the UK. I think that may jump forward however. Samples are available on amazon and iTunes.
Live Vault – Bjork
Bjork performed on UK TV “Later with Jools Holland” which is about the only mainstream TV show that’s musically decent and sound.
Cosmogony
Thunderbolt
Crystalline
Kate Bush – “50 Words for Snow” Review
65 Minutes, 7 songs. That’s a whole lot of epic going on. “50 Words for Snow” in many ways is anything but epic because it’s such a quiet and intimate album as a whole. Effectively a winter album, the songs weave their own patterns of weather.
“Snowflakes” is equally hypnotic as it is touching with a specific piano riff and hushed, muted and warm percussion lightly fumbles around the background. Interestingly it features (and opens with) her son Bertie singing beautifully. You can hear her nuances in his vocals and it fits together beautifully as a duet. Veering off to a jazz edge is the dischordant “Lake Tohoe” which seems to thrive in the opening few minutes with off-key moments and clashing vocals over soft piano and light dustings of electronics simmering away in the background. When the string ensemble arrives is when the song really comes together for me however with a perfect blend of humming and strings. Kate’s vocal’s have deepened and now feel quite sultry here. “Misty” completes the piano heavy jazzier trio that open the album with a simple melody, hushed vocals and as with the previous two, a lack of urgency and a take-my-hand warmth feels yours ears and heart. It’s strange how sometimes doing less makes everything feel like much more. The strings are used sparingly, as are the electronics in the background but you’re aware they’re there. Finally the track breaks into a more climactic ending with subtle guitar and Kate finally breaking out of her hushed tones to release her full voice upon us. It’s a wonderful section.
“Wild Man” is the most commercial track on the album (which is saying a lot about the rest) and in its seven minute entirety the infectious guitar riff is just as powerful and hypnotic but the single is bookended by an atmospheric opening and an additional verse at the end. “Snowed in at Wheeler Street” has a background almost tampura like chord which instantly harks me back to Aerial’s Disc 2. Add to this Elton John popping up playing the part of a lover in what is almost like a conversation in music. It’s typically unique and as anti song structure as possible – yet it makes perfect sense. This is the first track on the album that seems particularly downcast and blue.
Going into the more wilder side of Kate is the title track “50 Words for Snow”. Kate’s vocal’s count 1 through to 50 through a filter that sucks the life out it while Stephen Fry lists off the words! Think Aerial’s title track’s song structure and you’re part way there. It’s the most upbeat of the tracks and most interesting arrangement with lots of wind samples and weird warping whooping sounds. For the chorus Kate then tells us all how many words are left to be told! It’s by far my favourite track on the album. “Among Angels” closes the album in a beautiful way almost like the closing of a season with some delicate piano and vocal travels.
“50 Words For Snow” did not hit me on first listen aside from the single and the title track. Everything else is very long-winded and although it’s full of wisdom and emotion, it lacks the immediate punch to hook you. My interest was more than piqued however and I wanted to go back and rediscover the songs again that I didn’t immediately want to place on repeat. Suddenly like sections in the songs made sense, they formed songs within songs. Then it clicks. Like Aerial, its one that you need to sit through from start to finish to completely appreciate. On their own, the tracks are beautiful, together, they weave a season of winter chills, hearty spills and the warmth of music and language combined in one of the best examples I’ve heard for a winter album.
Video Vault – Gregory Douglass
Gregory Douglass returns with a new album “Remixed” featuring fresh takes on old songs. Here is the stirring music video to “American City”
Loreena McKennitt Tours in 2012
Loreena McKennitt goes on tour in 2012! The Celtic Footprints tour will start in Switzerland in March, pass through the UK on 5th April (I’ll be going – love the Barbican) and travel through Germany to end in Spain. Tour dates and tickets are available here.
Video Vault – Sheri Miller
Sheri Miller returns with the cute single “Spoons” complete with ultra cute video! This comes from her EP “Winning Hand”
