Annie Dressner - East Twenties

Annie Dressner – East Twenties
2013, Annie Dressner

New York City ex-pat Annie Dressner returns on April 8, 2013 with her sophomore release, and EP entitled East Twenties.  The follow-up to the 2009 full-length Strangers Who Knew Each Other’s Names furthers Dressner’s highly personal style songwriting style, but shows growth both in musicality and maturity.  Her view of heartaches historical and fresh is compelling, told with a depth of understanding, and occasionally, remorse.

“Heartbreaker” is an interesting musical study.  Sung as a folk ballad, Dressner revisits a childhood friendship in what turns out to be a commentary on bad timing.  He was in love with her then; it wasn’t until years later that she felt the same, but it was too late.  The humanity in this song is compelling, and Dressner’s little girl/big girl voice only makes it more distinctive.  This is brilliant songwriting; deeply autobiographical and from the heart.  “I Can’t Forget” is cut from the same cloth, although the loss here is a mortal one.  Regrets, what ifs and a deep, abiding sorrow fill in the gaps here.  Dressner’s delivery is smooth and heartfelt, and reminiscent in tone to Don McLean’s “Vincent”.  “Flame” wistfully explores the death of trust and innocence.  This is a bit more elemental than the other songs on East Twenties, and Dressner gets a big bogged down in the middle.  The songwriting is solid, but the energy just doesn’t hold through the middle.  “Lost In A Car” perhaps revisits the same soul and heart as “I Can’t Forget”, and Dressner’s wishes have a ‘nevermore’ quality that pulls at the listener.  This is a moment of beauty, carved in the rocky shores of sadness.

Annie Dressner has taken strides forward in the past four years as a songwriter.  Her compelling, heart-laid-bare story telling style engages the listener on a personal level, like an old friend pouring their heart out over coffee.  Dressner does occasionally get caught under the weight of her material, but there’s a lot to like here.  Make a date with Annie Dressner for East Twenties.  You’ll find it an experience to remember.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more at www.anniedressner.com. 

Leah Lou And The Two Left Shoes - This Music Belongs To You

Leah Lou And The Two Left Shoes - This Music Belongs To You
2011, Leah Lou & The Two Left Shoes

Leah Lou, Daniel Lee and a kick drum made from a garbage can comprise Cleveland, Ohio's Leah Lou & The Two Left Shoes.  Originally a trio, the band lost their drummer a week before a performance and had to improvise.  Their unusual stage presence combined with Leah Lou's distinctive voice and songwriting style will take you by surprise.  Leah Lou & The Two Left Shoes' debut EP, The Music Belongs To You, is a memorable effort that will leave you clamoring for more.

Leah Lou opens with "Clean Apartment", a snappy bit of folk/pop featuring Leah Lou's distinctively world-wise little girl voice.  Everything clicks here in an offbeat reminiscence, of sorts, about a relationship past.  "Donnie" is a bouncy little tune detailing the decline, fall and collateral damage of a family man succumbing to drug addiction.  The melody and tone of the song is in such stark contrast to the lyrics it's almost comical; you won't be able to get this tune out of your head.  "Donnie" might be one of the most infectious tunes of the year thus far, and seems ripe for movie licensing.

The dysfunction continues to flow on "Drunk Stupid & Used", where Leah Lou & The Two Left Shoes continue to juxtapose a display of personal demons alongside bouncy alterna-folk arrangements with supreme pop sensibility.  The gem of the EP just might be "Green Like Me", a brilliant recounting of insecurity and envy that's wonderfully upbeat and awash in neuroses.  This time the bounce is in the words and the vocal line, played against a plaintive, tick-tock style arrangement that marks the passage of time.  "Rain, They Say" is an apologist take on moodiness and its effects on those around us; an entertaining ditty with a memorable melody.  The EP closes quietly with the existential "Stop & Go", a treatise on traffic jams and the way they bring us together and pull us apart.  The mundane approach and gentle arrangement suggest a deeper parallel that's intriguing.

Leah Lou & The Two Left Shoes make a fine impression on This Music Belongs To You, the sort that will have listeners scouring the internet for unreleased tracks and waiting impatiently for their next album or EP.  Leah Lou's distinctive sound makes her instantly recognizable, and Daniel Lee helps to fill out the arrangements in distinctive style.  This Music Belongs To You is one EP not to miss.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

 Learn more about Leah Lou & The Two Left Shoes on MySpace or Facebook.  This Music Belongs To You is available for download from Bandcamp. 

Annie Dressner - Strangers Who Knew Each Other's Names

Annie Dressner - Strangers Who Knew Each Other's Names
2011, Annie R. Dressner

Annie Dressner grew up with music all around her.  She began writing songs unknowingly as a child, first making up her own lyrics to popular songs on car trips with the family, and later on piano.  A native New Yorker, Dressner grew up in the same building as her grandparents, both of them musicians.  Her parents both played as well, but Dressner actually grew up wanting to be an actress.  Her bloodlines called to her strongly, however, and Dressner was quickly drawn into the world of songwriting after high school.  On July 19, 2011, Dressner unveils her singular writing style to the world in the form of Strangers Who Knew Each Other's Names.  The album features a conversational writing style that is confessional in nature, like sitting with a good friend in a corner booth over a beer, as Dressner details her life in song.

Dressner opens with "Fly", a self-pep talk about not getting stuck in a bad relationship and finding the courage to be on her own.  It's a catchy-though-understated folk/pop number that would play well on the soundtrack of a show like "Grey's Anatomy" or "Parenthood".  Dressner's voice is both adult and childlike at the same time, sweet in its nature and quiet in style, but pointed and full of the power of truth.  "September" is of similar ilk, although a bit more subdued. "Cigarette" is an honorarium to a relationship past, and the little things that can serve as powerful reminders of one we once cared for.  Dressner's sound here is eclectic, as if Tanya Donnelly were singing with The Cranberries.  With "Strangers Who Knew Each Other's Names" explores the power of social media to connect people who might otherwise never have known one another, as well as those rare events were two people just click romantically.  It's a sweet number with a classic theme set amidst the facts of a digital age.

"Hardy Boys" was written about a friend's band, also called the Hardy Boys.  It's a spritely little number with a folk/Celtic feel.  Dressner's voice is at its best here, fitting well in the atmosphere she's created.  "Find Me" is more of a low-key rock number.  There's a conflicting raft of emotions here, detailing both a desire and an "I'm Over You" motif, intermingled in a revolving emotional swirl.   Dressner closes with "How Am I Supposed To Feel?", a personal workout of emotions following the loss of a loved one.  Loss and loneliness conflict with hope and a need to move on in an utterly personal and beautiful soliloquy that is as universal as it is personal.

Annie Dressner has one of those voices that draw you in.   Her personal nature as a songwriter connects immediately with listeners, who are able to find parallels in their own current or past struggles, thereby building a bond.  Strangers Who Knew Each Other's Names shows an artist who may never walk the red carpet of super-stardom, but will create enough life-long fans along the way that will keep her comfortable enough to spend her life building a body of work that may someday surprise people.  This is a promising start.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Annie Dressner at www.anniedressner.com, www.myspace.com/anniedressner, or www.facebook.com/anniemakesmusic.  Strangers Who Knew Each Other's Names drops on July 19, 2011.  The album is available for pre-order on Annie Dressner's website.