Bess Rogers - Out Of The Ocean

Bess Rogers - Out Of The Ocean
2011, Bess Rogers

Some people write great melodies.  Others craft lyrics that leave you breathless.  There are even some in the music world who build arrangements that go beyond day-to-day to comprehension.  Any one of these talents can make an artist a household name.  Any two may well make them a legend.  On her prior EP, Bess Rogers Presents: Bess Rogers, we found an artist who showed flashes of these types of brilliance.  Fourteen months later, Rogers returns with Out Of The Ocean, making unbelievable strides as an artist, and transforming herself quickly from a singer/songwriter with big talent and tremendous potential into a maturing, brilliant artist you simply can’t ignore.

Rogers has built her reputation on several fronts.  The Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist has been involved in numerous projects over the years, playing nearly every style of music imaginable.  A few years back she was picked to be Ingrid Michaelson’s guitarist, and has earned a well-deserved reputation as a dynamic performer with a flair for the dramatic and the technical chops to back it all up.  Rogers began building her name as a solo performer through her web presence and technical savvy, but it’s the music that speaks for Rogers.

Out Of The Ocean opens with "One Step Free", the song snippet that gives the album its name. Rogers makes an impressive start here, although it may leave you wishing she'd finished the song. "Standing Tall" opens with a plaintive verse that resolves into a beautiful, lush and lustrous pop chorus. Roger's voice is pure ear candy for those with rich musical tastes, and she bends and shapes the melody line here like a true artist. The song itself is one of safety and confidence in love - a nice change of pace from the glut of starry-eyed pop songs and anguish filled navel gazing ballads that fill up the airwaves. "Weak Link" is an anachronistic invitation from one who views her own imperfections as the perfect complement to the object of her desires better qualities. There's a romantic, tongue-in-cheek element here that's charming, and the full, active arrangement makes it a pop gem.

Rogers bemoans the relegation of romance and attraction to chemical processes on "Math And Science", yet indicates a continued willingness to play her part. Rogers draws you in here with a chorus that simply will not get out of your head. "Anchor" goes up-tempo, running along at a gallop while Rogers keeps pace with a flawless vocal line. The melody line here is brilliant, and once again, Rogers will stay in head for days. Don't be surprised if this is a break out hit. Rogers slows things down a bit with "In The Waves", a utopian invitation from a mermaid to a broken man that parallels immersion in water and falling in love with artful delicacy. Rogers creates a gorgeous sonic landscape here with layered voices and synth over a sparse arrangement. The song closes in haunting fashion, fading away into the depths.

 

Water And Dirt" is another wonderfully catchy pop/rock rumination on love. Rogers plays with the theme of elements, and the almost hopeless part we play in the human dramas of love throughout the album, but here she creates a bit of musical and lyrical magic that's impossible to ignore. "The Fittest" is another example of the sort of diluvian, edgy pop that Rogers is capable of creating. The arrangement is beautiful and lush, but with a backbone as hard as iron. Rogers rocks out on "I'll Be Gone", throwing down the gauntlet in a relationship where the sharing is no longer equal. This is done not in angry tones, but in a driven melody with honest lyrics that are more intelligently questing than spiteful. "Second Chance" is the most stripped-down and personal of the offerings on Out Of The Ocean, showing off Rogers' voice in a more open arrangement that reveals its simple beauty in broad daylight. Similarly, "Brick By Brick" sticks to an unfettered musical formula, whereby Rogers explores the minutiae of relationships in affecting and intelligent imagery. Rogers builds the intensity of the arrangement back to where she started in a conveyance of the building process, before falling back to the simple strains of a guitar string that fades as if leaving a story in progress.

 

Bess Rogers showed herself to be a special talent with her debut EP, Bess Rogers Presents: Bess Rogers, but Out Of The Ocean is light years ahead of first effort, showing a fast-maturing talent for melody, lyrics and song construction, all wrapped up in a voice that resonates in your mind. Rogers shares the love of lush arrangements apparent in the work of Sarah McLachlan, as well as the willful, independent narrative lyrics found in Aimee Mann's work. This all comes together in a fashion that is comfortingly familiar yet excitingly original. Very quietly, and without warning, Bess Rogers will knock your socks off. Out Of The Ocean is a Wildy’s World Certified Desert Island Disc, and figures to be featured heavily in year-end lists.

 

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Bess Rogers at www.bessrogers.com or www.myspace.com/bessrogers.

           CD                       MP3                   iTunes

Please note that the Amazon.com prices listed above are as of the posting date, and may have changed. Wildy's World is not responsible for price changes instituted by Amazon.com.

Check out with current tour-mate Allison Weiss in the first episode of "Van Jams", below:

Aoede - Affair With The Muse

Aoede - Affair With The Muse
2011, Aoede Muse Music

Dermatomyositis is a rare connective-tissue disease that weakens the immune system, muscles and skin.  When this disease struck Lisa Sniderman, AKA Aoede, in 2008, it came from out of the blue.  Aoede was still basking in the recognition generated by her debut album, Push And Pull, which won Aoede recognition for Top Artist of the Year and Top Album of the Decade from WomenRadio.com.  In September of 2010, Sniderman's condition worsened, requiring a 24-day hospital stay and intensive treatment and therapy.  Aoede made music a part of the therapeutic process, and the result is a new seven-track album entitled Affair With The Muse.

Aoede opens with "Fairy Tale Love", a 1950's pop vocal number dressed up in modern folk/pop clothing.  Party Disney and part dysfunctional romance movie, "Fairy Tale Love" explores wanting that perfect love story.  Aoede's sweetly anachronistic voice dances with the melody line to create a sweet opening moment.  "Does Your Heart Ever Stop Feeling" starts with an 'oom-pah' beat, much like a parade march.  Aoede will remind listeners of Kate Bush and Tori Amos here, with an intriguing vocal line that makes up in character what it occasionally loses in pure tone.  "Crave Me" speaks from the midst of a comfortable relationship, asking to be placed ahead of the day-to-day considerations of the world, even if for a little while.  This heartfelt number is honest and real, written from the heart of someone who just wants to be seen as she once was.  Off to a great start, the album slows down somewhat from there. "If You Already Know" has a bit of a cabaret feel, but is otherwise somewhat bland.  Aoede creates an interesting characterization of love in "Love Proof", but "Fall On Your Deaf Ears" is a bit too close to cliché in trying to save a relationship tilting into the wind.  Aoede closes strong with "What You Got".  Part pep talk and part motivational aid (i.e. kick in the rear), the song is entertaining and impassioned and full of heart.

Just like people, sometimes music soars and sometimes it survives.  Aoede does a bit of both here, which is incredibly fitting given the circumstances under which Affair With The Muse was born.  Aoede's quirky folk/pop sensibilities mix with both light and dark on her latest album, sometimes throwing up glorious sparks of song, while at others simply documenting the passage of time and the survival of creation; of life itself.  While Affair With The Muse may not stand as Aoede's best work in time, it might be her most compelling.  You can't help but think, listening to Aoede's occasional brushes with magic, that there's an album in her down the road that's going to blow a lot of people away.  Affair With The Muse isn't that album, but it's the first step on the path there.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Aoede at www.aoedemuse.com.  To learn more about Dermatomyositis, please visit www.myositis.org.  Affair With The Muse is available digitally from Amazon.com and iTunes.

Grace Stumberg - To Whom It May Concern

Grace Stumberg - To Whom It May Concern
2011, Popadelic Records

Grace Stumberg is a 22-year old singer/songwriter from Buffalo, New York who proves that appearances can be deceiving.   But when you hear the big voice that emanates from her 4’11” frame you will be floored.  Stumberg, a graduate of Robbie Takac’s (Goo Goo Dolls) Music In Action career training program, is ready to take on the world with her debut album, To Whom It May Concern.  Showing a depth of songwriting talent you don’t often find in one so young, and a presence that recalls some of the great singer/songwriters of the past, Stumberg is just a break or two away from national recognition.

To Whom It May Concern opens with "Change The World", an anthem of inspiration and aspiration about making dreams come true.  Stumberg shows solid pop sensibility on what turns out to be the weakest offering on the album.  Commitment overcomes the arrangement.  The high point of the song is Grace Stumberg's voice, a gorgeous, velvety alto that works well for folk, pop and rock n roll.  "Happier Side" is a bluesy rocker looking for the bright side in a rough start.  It's a great tune, with big energy and an even bigger sound.  By the end of the tune you'll be thinking may Stumberg is the real deal.  By the end of "To Whom It May Concern" you won't even question it.  Stumberg goes for a more Americana setting this time around, with accordion, violin, acoustic guitar, bass and drums.  Stumberg sings for her own dreams here, declaring a trajectory she won't back down from; her voice is gorgeous and Stumberg creates a moment here.

"Steady" starts from a simple, acoustic guitar led look back at how things and people change over time and turns into a polyphonic, multi-layered anthem of hope.  Stumberg builds the song by layering orchestration and vocal harmonies on a bit at a time, culminating in a grand crescendo of sound and melody that's breathtaking.  "The Roses" shows off the singer/songwriter side of Stumberg.  The ode to her grandmother or to a grandmother-like figure gorgeous details enough aspects of her life to make it real and is a compelling testament of love.  Before it's over there is a lovely, baroque-style orchestration that blends in to what is essentially a folk ballad, creating a moment of beauty so rich and touching you'll be moved whatever your constitution.

"Change My Color" is a live, in-studio recording that likens the changes of seasons to personal transformations, pointing out that both are as unstoppable as any other natural law.  The song features a pretty, singular and stoic melody that is unforgettable, and Stumberg's voice fills it out to perfection.  "Sticks And Stones" is a refreshingly poetic kiss-off song with a quiet undercurrent that is surprisingly catchy.  Stumberg's use of imagery and children's rhymes is novel in the context of someone finally opening her eyes to the truth.  This conceptual coming of age is buttressed by Stumberg's velvety, sultry alto.  It's an amazing piece of song craft.

"My Love", an internal exploration of love gone bad, is matter-of-fact in the telling, but underscored with a touch of regret that makes the song compellingly human.  Stumberg seems to have a knack for using each song as a vessel of truth, whether expressing views of the world around her or matters of the heart.  This ability to enliven ideas marks the great songwriters for who they are, and early indications are that Stumberg has the gift.  "Home" blends Americana, pop and classic rock in a Bruce Hornsby-meets-Bonnie Raitt mashup that's amazing.  It's a catchy, mid-tempo number about finding out where your roots belong.  Stumberg is in fine voice here, and listeners may be left thinking that Stumberg has found something of a home in this sound.  Refusing to be pigeonholed quiet so easily, Stumberg launches into the edgy rocker "Miscommunichicken".  The chorus is almost comical: "Don't spread yourself too thin, cause just like bread on butter you're only gonna get eaten".  Get beyond that, however, and you have a Ben Folds Five inspired rocker marked by heavily percussive piano and a correspondingly raw sound.  It's not Stumberg's best, but is an intriguing window on the breadth and depth of Stumberg's songwriting talent.

"Wartime" is a vibrant piece of rock n roll; full in sound and stark in melody.  What Stumberg has done with finesse up until now, she accomplished with inundating force of sound here.  It's an overloaded classic rock feast that will make a great jam tune for live shows, bordering on the neighborhood of progressive rock without losing the singer-songwriter pastiche.  There are hints of Neil Young here that are impossible to ignore.  To Whom It May Concern closes with "Change The World (Woody Mix)".  The mix is just Stumberg, her guitar, and occasional vocal harmonies.  The song is much more powerful in this stripped down setting, conveying the struggle to make a better world more powerfully as a solitary voice.

Wow.

Wow moments happen in music.  You might hear a certain song and be floored by the message, or the melody, or a turn of phrase.  But it's pretty rare to have that reaction to an entire album; to an artist as a whole.  Grace Stumberg is young and still lacks some of the polish of a seasoned songwriter, but she has a gift that most songwriters would kill for.  Stumberg makes her songs come to life for those willing to listen.  To Whom It May Concern lives and breathes from start to finish, touching on people, places, thoughts, emotions and events with a subtlety and grace that is surprising in an artist so young.  Stumberg can blow out the amps as well, when called for.  It's that knowing when to and not to that marks the dividing lines between a great songwriter and someone who might just be discussed one day in hallowed tones.  It's much too early to tell what Grace Stumberg's final trajectory will be, but she certainly seems to have greatness in her sights.  To Whom It May Concern is a Wildy’s World Certified Desert Island Disc.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Grace Stumberg at www.gracestumberg.com or www.myspace.com/gracestumbergmusic.  To Whom It May Concern is available from Amazon.com as a CD or Download.  The album is also available via iTunes.

Bess Rogers - Bess Rogers Presents: Bess Rogers

Bess Rogers - Bess Rogers Presents: Bess Rogers
2010, Hubbub!

A few years back Ingrid Michaelson saw years of hard work turn into overnight success because of social media. Somewhere along that path Michaelson had need for a lead guitarist. Through friends she found out about Brooklyn guitarist Bess Rogers. Rogers has been on the road with Michaelson ever since. You might call this series of events serendipity. Rogers loves all styles of music, playing almost everything under the sun. Aside from a solo career and playing lead for Michaelson she is also currently the front woman of The Flux Capacitors and plays guitar and keyboards for the electro-prog outfit The Age Of Rockets. Rogers is well known in Indie circles for her instrumental work, her songwriting and her voice, but name recognition has largely eluded her outside of distinct musical circles. That all changes on September 21, 2010, when Rogers releases Bess Rogers Presents: Bess Rogers. While just a 5-song EP, Bess Rogers Presents: Bess Rogers is the sort of musical calling card that moves an artist up the ladder of notoriety by leaps and bounds. Accordingly, Bess Rogers is the Wildy's World Artist of the Month for September, 2010.

Bess Rogers runs in a circle of musicians who trade musical styles like kids used to trade baseball cards. This melting pot of musical styles helps to explain the distinct pop sensibility that Rogers embeds in each song. But Rogers doesn't just make you want to dance; you'll find yourself getting deep into the lyrical pool that Rogers creates as well, as she spins melodies with a voice that's party every-woman and part angel. Comparisons to Regina Spektor and Juliana Hatfield abound, but there are elements of Ani DiFranco and Rachel Sage in Rogers' musical DNA as well. Rogers opens with "Come Home", an incredibly catchy number that in a perfect world would light up the pop charts for weeks on end. Rogers has penned a chorus that you'll be singing along with the very first time you hear it, and delivers the vocals with such an unaffected air that you can't help but instantly like her. It's a brilliant bit of songwriting. "What We Want" plays around the edges of greener grasses with the ultimate realization that all is well. It's another catchy tune with a great melody, even if Rogers does rely a bit heavily on repetition in the chorus.

Rogers writes without filters on "Good Enough", an exploration of turning yourself inside out to capture someone you'll never have. The contemplative, peaceful nature of the song hides a deep-seated anger and frustration that finally explodes in a dark, cloudy guitar exposition in the song's closing moments. Rogers doesn't need to go over the top to get her message across here, relying on subtle shifts in attitude and aspect and bare hints of irony and anger that lead to an explosion that is both less and more than you might expect. "Favorite Day" is a punk/folk/pop anthem in the form of a love song. Rogers reminisces about the moment when a relationship moved from fun to real for her. It's a tremendous exposition of the moment that catchy but affectionate and full of reverie. Rogers started out with brilliant pop, and closes with brilliance of another kind. "All In Good Fun" explores the emotional shrapnel of a relationship where she was left high and dry. It's a tremendous moment of vulnerability, written in raw emotional turns from someone who is perhaps at peace with what happened but still trying to clean up the mess it left behind. "All In Good Fun" may not have the pure pop feel to it that "Come Home" possesses, but it's an amazing song that could survive the snares of pop radio purgatory and win spins based on popular demand.

Songwriting can be likened to the process of creating gem stones. Each stone has its own characteristics based on the elements involved and the pressures applied to the process. Songwriting relies on basic elements as well (notes, words, rhythms), and the pressures applied are a combination of musical experience and exposure, personal experience, emotional makeup, etc. It seems likely that Rogers' vast musical experiences and competencies create an unusual creative tension in her songwriting process, and the emotional honesty of her songwriting rounds the rough edges that every gem is born with. Some songwriters create quartz; some create opals. On Bess Rogers Presents: Bess Rogers, Rogers creates diamonds. Bess Rogers Presents: Bess Rogers is a Wildy's World Certified Desert Island Disc.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Bess Rogers at http://www.bessrogers.com/ or www.myspace.com/bessrogers.  Bess Rogers Presents: Bess Rogers drops on September 21, 2010 and is available from Amazon.com as a CD or Download.

American Hi-Fi - Fight The Frequency

American Hi-Fi - Fight The Frequency
2010, Hi-Fi Killers/The Ascot Club

Boston rockers American Hi-Fi return with their fourth studio album, Fight The Frequency on August 17, 2010, the follow-up to 2005's Hearts On Parade. Over the past several years singer/guitarist Stacy Jones has been musical director and drummer for Miley Cyrus while Jamie Arentzen has been her guitarist. Jones has also produced albums for artists such as Meg & Dia, Ingrid Michaelson, Plain White T's and The Cab. Fight The Frequency finds the original American Hi-Fi lineup together again with a collection of twelve songs that run the gamut from Punk-Inspired modern rock to pop/rock balladry.

American Hi-Fi opens with the title track "Fight The Frequency, featuring a catchy, guitar-driven big rock chorus. It's one of those songs that get stuck in your head the first time you hear it and simply won't leave. The song is optimistic tune about going with the flow of life and letting your dreams take off. There's major single potential here. The same can be said of "This Is A Low" which is edgy pop/rock at its finest with another big catchy chorus. Sliding into the plodding anti-ballad "Where Love Is A Lie", American Hi-Fi begins a more angst-filled trend that recurs throughout much of the album. "Acetate" is a solid example, mixing the band's pop/rock sound with a bit of Nirvana-esque angst and edge. The song works and has a solid arrangement but seems a bit out of place here.

"Lost" is the first single from the album, an upbeat power ballad of sorts that's very catchy. Expect the interest from both radio and the licensing realm to be large for this tune. "Frat Clump" finds American Hi-Fi at their hardest and heaviest, playing with a punk edge that's not their best sound but a lot of fun to listen to. "Lookout For Hope" returns to a more pop-oriented sound as a mildly catchy relationship song with a solid chorus. This mild inertia holds through "A Taste For Crime" and "Stargazer" before the band breaks out with "Bullet". Personal tastes will vary around this song, but it's certain to gather a lot of interest from radio if released as a single. Perhaps the best is saved for last however. American Hi-Fi closes with "Tiny Spark", infiltrating their big rock sound with elements of Americana and southern rock. The big, open chorus and solid harmonies make this song a winner, the sort that becomes a concert favorite and sticks around the band's live set for the balance of their careers.

It's hard to say whether American Hi-Fi will be able to recreate the sort of success they've previously had with singles such as "Flavor Of The Weak", "Another Perfect Day" or "The Art Of Losing", but there are at least three songs on Fight The Frequency with the potential for big radio impact. The time off certainly hasn't dulled the band's pop proclivities or guitar muscle. American Hi-Fi has a winner on their hands with Fight The Frequency.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about American Hi-Fi at http://www.americanhi-fi.com/ or www.myspace.com/americanhifi.  Fight The Frequency drops on August 17, 2010, and can be downloaded from Amazon.com.

Review: Molly Thomason - Through The Static

Molly Thomason - Through The Static
2009, Molly Thomason

Molly Thomason carries with her the sort of polish and maturity of an established artist whose been writing and performing professionally for a number of years. She’s been writing for seven years by now, but the fact that she’s all of fifteen years old will come as something of a surprise if you hear her before you see her. The Antigonish, Nova Scotia resident who was born in Kent, England into an artist family was singing practically before she was talking; if there’s ever been someone born to make music its Molly Thomason. Thomason makes a big impression with her debut album, Through The Static, showing poise beyond her years.

Through The Static opens with Untitled #2 (Kiss Me), a solid Pop tune in an acoustic arrangement with a killer chorus. Thomason establishes herself early as a center-of-the-road mix of Ingrid Michaelson and Lisa Loeb; sweet with just a bit of edge to her. Textbook Cute is a tough read. After several listens I am still not sure I'm with the text, but the arrangement is great. The song seems to be about involvement with someone who is dysfunctional and up-front about it; either the dysfunction is catching or the narrator realizes that she, too, is given to the same sort of dysfunction. Streetfight didn't catch me hard the first few listens, but the more I hear it the more weight it has. It's a song about the tension and anxiety of growing up and enmeshing your life with another. Thomason plays around the edges of sharing space and establishing boundaries in very artful, musical terms.

Break My Heart is a dash of Urban Folk-core, ala Ani DiFranco, but with a slightly harder edge. The song is catchy and memorable, and among Thomason's better offerings. Summer Rain is another highlight, capturing that moment in a relationship where things come to the brink of falling apart before the wounds heal. All relationships go through these moments; even the ones that work out. Thomason shows a deft lyrical touch here. All That I Would Like To Say is a heartfelt ballad that leaves nothing unspoken. The abject honesty could be either refreshing or too much depending on the listener's perspective. Thomason returns to Urban Folk-core for Sister Sarah. Again, I didn't quite stay with Thomason on this one, but the song has a great sound.

Thomason shows a lot of vulnerability on Through The Static, touching on the realization in a relationship that her partner would be okay without her. It's a crisis of confidence borne of insecurity, asking the key question: Do you love me? One Anthem Girl confronts a behavior that can and likely will tear apart the relationship (in this case drugs). The song seemed a little flat, nowhere near as emotionally intense as you might expect given the emotional range shown elsewhere on Through The Static. Thomason saves her best for last. Little Bones features Thomason at her most poetic; crafting a delightful Folk arrangement with Jazz accents and instrumentation that bring the song to life.

Molly Thomason's Through The Static is a very solid effort, providing consistent quality songwriting and performance throughout. Just when you think Thomason will soldier out as she came in, she throws you a wink and a curve with the final track; an invitation to come along and see what else she has up her sleeve. Thomason isn't about you to blow you away, but she has a very affable voice, a knack for telling stories and guiding them through compact Folk/Rock arrangements, and the ability to pull the rug out from under you when you least expect it. Through The Static is a solid listen you'll come back to. You might even find yourself sticking around to find what comes next.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Molly Thomason at http://www.mollythomason.ca/. You can purchase Through The Static as either a CD or Download from CDBaby.com.

Review: Alan Semerdjian - The Big Beauty

Alan Semerdjian - The Big Beauty
2009, Alan Arts Music

Alan Semerdjian has created a circle with his music where life feeds art and art feeds life. As the front man for New York City band Surreal for most of the 1990’s, Semerdjian toured the East Coast of the United State many times over, sharing the stage with a who’s who of bands and artists and writing music that still gets used periodically for television and movies. These days, Semerdjian is on his own, playing a quirky brand of Alt-Pop mixed with Americana. And I wouldn’t say he’s entirely on his own, as Semerdjian collaborates with an impressive list of friends (including Jen Chapin, Daniel Carter, Nick Gianni and Chris Barron (Spin Doctors)). Semerdjian’s latest release, The Big Beauty, encompasses all of the melodic and lyric charms fans have become accustomed to in a slightly more refined package. The Big Beauty is produced by Rilo Kiley's Michael Bloom, and features Franz Nicholay (Hold Steady), Chris Kuffner (Ingrid Michaelson, Regina Spektor), Dave Diamond (Zen Trickers) and Philip A. Jimenez (Wheatus) among others.

The Big Beauty opens with Your Love, a distinctive melody wrapped in gorgeous harmonies and an Americana-Pop arrangement you won't be able to get out of your brain. This leads into I Can't Tell You How; strong active Americana-Rock that reminds me of what you might hear if Ron Hawkins were ever to jam with the likes of Blue Rodeo. Semerdjian has a couple of WOW moments on The Big Beauty, and the first one arrives three songs in. Bad Dreams is an amazing take on loving someone who is perhaps not emotionally stable. Lyrically, musically and vocally this song is flawless. You Can Run finds Semerdjian taking a Chris Isaak turn with a beautiful yet melancholy tale.

Hole In Your Home is highly textured in arrangement and equally emotive. The two distinctly percussive natures (one literal, the other emotional) come together to create a powerful moment in song. The sometimes shadowing and sometimes juxtaposed natures of these two rhythms seem to echo relationships as the members fall in and out of sync repeatedly over time. Semerdjian rips off the roof on Everything (She's Still The Best). Fans of early Skydiggers/Cash Brothers will listen to this with distinct joy. Semerdjian dishes out a bit of sleight of hand here, opening with a prologue that speaks to his Armenian heritage before slowly transitioning into a driving folk/country arrangement that won't allow you to sit still. Stephanie is a love song that takes a disastrous turn. Keep your game face on, as the lyrics will get a smile out of your before they're done.

Melody combines elements of Jazz, Funk and Blues in a tune that is alternately pensive and busy (perhaps at times too much so). This is a great listen, but does border on becoming too muddy at moments. When There Was Something Wrong With You is the other real WOW moment on The Big Beauty. Semerdjian has crafted an arrangement you won't want to end. This is true ear candy. AM Radio changes pace with a full, multi-layered sound wrapped around an unforgettable melody that's very much down tempo.

Alan Semerdjian has one of those voices you could listen to all day. Take care you don't get so into his voice that you miss on out on the wonderful musicianship, distinctive lyrical style and songwriting that comprise The Big Beauty. Alan Semerdjian has been a critical favorite for a long time, and carries a lot of respect from fellow musicians, but its baffling how he hasn't broken through into the social conscience of a music scene crying for talent like this. The Big Beauty is required listening from an essentially talent. Make sure you spend some time with Alan Semerdjian soon.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Alan Semerdjian at http://www.alanarts.com/, http://www.alansemerdjian.com/ or www.myspace.com/semerdjian. The Big Beauty hits the street on September 1, 2009. You can purchase a copy of The Big Beauty at www.cdbaby.com/cd/semerdjian2, or you can download the album from iTunes.

Review: Katey Laurel - Upstairs, Downstairs

Katey Laurel – Upstairs, Downstairs
2008, Roaring Twenties Records

If you ask Katey Laurel what style of music she plays, she’s most likely to respond Folk-pop. This is the “genre” that has encompassed artists such as Jewel, Ingrid Michaelson, Sufjan Stevens, and an empire of artists who write acoustic based pop songs that fit neatly into the marketing niches of prime-time television soundtracks. There is a broad continuum of quality in this burgeoning class of musicians that runs from pop-fluff gone acoustic to good, classic singer-songwriter fare. I am happy to tell you that Katey Laurel fits solidly into the latter category. Upstairs, Downstairs, her fourth album on Roaring Twenties Records, makes you think how a Carly Simon or Joni Mitchell might have sounded if they were starting out today.

Upstairs, Downstairs opens with Twentysomething, a tribute to learning to stand on your own. The song has a peppy feel in spite of the wistfully melancholy lyrics. Angels In The Attic has a dark and dreamy aspect and guitar part a-la Andy Summers on Don't Stand Close To Me. Katey Laurel really lets herself go on Angels In The Attic, the depth and timbre of her voice shining out of the chorus like a dark star full of textured beauty and heavy substance. It's a voice that that can range from pretty to gritty, from serene to sexy, all in the turn of a phrase. Earthquake follows as the epitaph to a relationship, projecting a vulnerability that's both guarded and palpable.

You tells the classic tale of the relationship you don't want to keep but can't stand to let go. It's social dysfunction at its musical highest. No One Else is destined by licensed, included in mix tapes, sung to significant others and otherwise spread about the earth in by haphazard means. The melody is a classic one and the message is one that people will latch onto as undeniable truth. Laurel has hit on a special song here. Waiting, likewise is a special song. There's a smoky wanton quality to this song that is part desperation and part desire. Laurel's voice is perfect here, dripping with need. As good as everything else here is, Katey Laurel hits a peak on Spiral-Bound Notebook, perhaps one of the most moving unrequited love songs of 2008. The narrator pours her heart into the notebook but can't bring the words out to her beloved. It's heart-breakingly beautiful and an absolute must hear. Be sure to check out See-Through and Something To Believe In, both worthwhile listens.

Katey Laurel is an extremely gifted songwriter. Laurel's voice shows flashes of Joni Mitchell and Natalie Merchant, but her sound is very much her own. The deep warmth and sensuality of her voice will surprise listeners and reach beyond their defenses to their hearts and minds. That's Katey Laurel's greatest gift, the ability to connect with listeners even through the cold medium of a CD or download. Upstairs, Downstairs is a fantastic album, and hopefully one of many albums to come.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Katey Laurel at http://www.kateylaurel.com/, where you can purchase a copy of Upstairs, Downstairs using PayPal. If you don’t have PayPal, you can pick up a copy at www.cdbaby.com/cd/klsmith4.