Salina Sias - Salina Sias

Salina Sias – Salina Sias
2011, Salina Sias

Salina Sias’ musical career was almost derailed before it really started. Classically trained from a young age, Sias sang competitively throughout her school years. Then one morning, at the age of 17, her voice was simply gone. Down, but not out, Sias switched her sites to acting. She moved to New York City at the age of 18 to study, and spent the next decade trying to make it while dabbling in marketing and journalism as a way to pay the bills. Sias’ voice had come back however; she was a regular shower singer long before she left anyone know about it. Then, about a year ago she met with a vocal coach and started putting the pieces back together. Excited to make up for lost time, Sias recently released her debut album, Salina Sias.

Sias shows a longitudinal story-teller’s style on Salina Sias, writing and performing in a semi-stream of conscious style that makes the background music more utilitarian than compelling. Her imagery is strong, however, while Sias explores themes that run the gamut from coming of age stories to chasing down the mixed emotions of life. Sias starts off on a stark note with the lovely but vaguely disturbing “Up In The Trees”. The experience related her have my innocent or may carry much darker undertones, but it’s about a little girl’s perspective from off to the side as she comes to terms with the world around her. Let the interpretations begin, but it’s a strong opening shot from an artist who deserves to be heard. “Sounds Of Blue” is a pretty discourse on two people living together yet living apart. There is an intrinsic sadness here wrapped up in a warped sort of fatalism. The song will get under your skin.

“Dear Job” is an intriguing song about the struggle for faith and doing the right things in day-to-day life. The moments when we look at a path and know what we should do but continue on our own merry way are immortalized herein. Sias’ conversation with the saint through a book on her shelf that beckons yet remains untouched. Sias gets contemplative on “Almost The Same”, showing an odd blend of emotion and detachment that unrolls slowly with the song. “Slipping Away” is a gorgeous musical dissertation on death, marking both its permanency and its negotiability for the living left behind. Sias’ piano arrangement is worth the price of admission on its own.

“Broken Memory” builds brilliance from dichotomy, blending mystery and darkness with ragged edges into an illuminating musical moment full of a rough hewn beauty that is nearly impossible to create. In this one moment the listener hears all that Salina Sias can be as a songwriter – A true WOW moment. Sias suddenly throws listeners a pair of curves on the final two songs. An album full of gentle, occasionally ethereal folk/pop, she gets down and dirty with a pair gut-busting, innuendo-laden torch songs that will know your socks off. “Midnight On Thursday” speaks of basic human needs, waning hours, and the sense of desperation that alcohol ferments. Sias opens up her voice and leaves a scarring impression full that you won’t soon forget. “You Ain’t The One” might just be the afterthought; a bluesy, soulful lamentation on what the listener probably knew was inevitable a song ago.

Salina Sias starts out with a firm impression that would place Sias among the likes of Loreena McKennitt, Sarah McLachlan and Milla, but on the final two songs becomes a bit of Martina Sorbara (pre-Dragonette) or even Sunday Wilde. However you choose to classify the singer, Salina Sias is a distinctive introduction to an artist who aspires to big things. The songwriting here is impressive, if occasionally uneven, with Sias showing serious chops as a writer, singer and pianist. This might not be the breakout album; Salina Sias is the one that makes the breakout possible later. This is one young lady who’s going to be on a lot of music radars very soon.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Salina Sias at www.salinasias.com. Salina Sias is available from Amazon.com on CD or as a Download.

The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library - Volume One

Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library - Volume One
2011, The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library

It's hard to understand how Michael J. Epstein even knows whether he's coming or going.  A Ph.D. who teaches the Anatomy and Physiology of the Auditory System, Hearing Sciences and Noise & Hearing, Epstein has released albums with The Motion Sick, Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, and now his latest project, Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library.  Inspired by a wicked sense of humor and a trip to the Ronald Reagan Memorial building in Washington, D.C., Epstein chose the band name as an umbrella for a number of projects that may grow out of the ensemble in the future.  Speaking of the ensemble, Epstein chose his wife and additional six ladies via Facebook and Craigslist to support his muse, some of whom without significant musical experience.  Epstein's creative mind and the unfettered expectations of raw musicians creates a fresh dynamic on Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library's debut album, Volume One. 

MJEML opens things up with a catchy bit of orchestral/acoustic pop in the form of "Amylee".  Epstein takes issue with the inertia of life and the forces that constantly alter that which is good.  There's an out to save the universe feel here that's both serious and self-deprecating.  "Holy Ghost" is an intriguing number, utilizing the old Catholic school admonition to "leave room for the Holy Ghost" to call out one individuals use of spirituality to avoid close contact with others.  Epstein does this inside of a chorus that will set up shop in your forebrain and squat for days at a time, and manages to address a prickly personal issue without throwing anyone's beliefs under the bus.  Humor and tact can co-exist in pop music in the 21st century.  Who knew?

"The Weeping Song" is a sonically interesting piece crafted of semi-orchestral nuance and an atmospheric blend of vocals.  Listeners might be reminded of Loreena McKennitt of like artists here, but the image is fleeting against the martial beat and growing intensity of the song.  "Every Time I Visit You, It Rains" couches a song of regret over the mundane trajectory of a relationship in a catchy acoustic pop number.  The song reflects an optimistic view of a relationship that is perhaps already gone, and the split personality of lyric and melody will keep you coming back. 

"Stranger" is a wonderfully bright pop song with the dark sinew of change and mortality running through it.  The supporting instrumentation is layered, complex, and occasionally multi-rhythmic in an ever shifting bed of sound.  "Lymph Nodes" has pretensions to a bastardized bluegrass lineage; an entertaining bit of seeming nonsense that shakes its fist at a nonsensical world and reacts the only way it knows how.  The tune is incredibly catchy, and seems perfect for a film or television soundtrack somewhere.  "Civil Engineering" addresses the dumbing-down of society through over-exposure and escapism.  There may be a defacto implication that this is all by design, but the net effect is a world mired in its troubles because individuals have lost their ability to communicate.  Humor and sociology mix for damning indictment of a world on a collision course with anything in its path.

"4th Grade Book Report Blues" is perhaps the one misstep on Volume I, a case where the song likely seemed funnier as a theoretical than it bears out to be on the album.  The sound is great, but something just doesn't click here.  "Oh Emily" returns to the bright, airy folk-pop sound, a paean to a lady so involved in her personal misery she can't see the world around her for what it is.  Volume One closes with "Small Crack", an incredibly infectious bit of acoustic pop music about an impending jailbreak.  The breezy feel contrasted with the subject matter lays irony open for public discourse, but conversation dies in lieu of the urge to sashay along to the music. 

Every so often a band comes along with such a fresh approach to making music that you drop whatever you're doing and listen closely.  Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library is that sort of band.  The light-hearted intellectualism and wit of Michael J. Epstein and the unaffected musical perspectives of his band make for a joyous listen on Volume One.  This sort of magic is hard to recreate, but for now its okay to revel in what may just be one of the best debuts of 2011 (so far). 

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library at http://www.michaeljepstein.com/ or www.facebook.com/mjeml.  Volume One drops on May 10, 2011.  Digital pre-orders are available via Amazon.com.

Iona Leigh - Wild By Nature

Iona Leigh - Wild By Nature
2010, MG Music Ltd.

While born in Sydney, Australia, Iona Leigh grew up in the Scottish highlands, listening to her mother's new age music collection while living in spiritually communal eco-village. With comparisons to artists such as Loreena McKennitt and Deva Premal, Leigh is establishing herself as a significant new voice in new age music. Iona's most recent album, Wild By Nature, was produced by the legendary Medwyn Goodall and released on his MG Music Ltd. label during the spring of 2010. Leigh performs all vocals on the album and Goodall does everything else.

Wild By Nature opens with "Nature's Lament", featuring the poetry of William Wordsworth. Leigh's vocal line is gorgeous and Goodall's arrangement is brilliant, but at 7:38 the song does drone on a bit. "Elemental Spirits" has more of a new age/pop feel; it's a ballad to creation in its most primal forms from a spiritual perspective. The chorus works well, although the verses are a bit locked into form and repetitive. "Here And Now" is a gentle statement of metaphysical being; a declaration of being prepared to enjoy life's experiences in their fullest measure. It's a pretty song absent tension or contrast.

Leigh pays tribute to a British warrior-queen with "Queen Boadicea", recounting in artful terms the historical figure who led an uprising against the Roman army in 60-61 AD that led to Rome temporarily evacuating Britain. Leigh certainly owes some of her atmospherics here to Enya with a pop arrangement that sticks close to her new age roots. Leigh creates a musical mural of earth in naturalist terms with "Colour Of The Earth" recounting the seasons and creatures that make up the world as a series of interconnected thoughts. The arrangement and melody are pretty, and the passive narrative is contemplative in nature. The lack of a prime motivation or mover in the song may lose some listeners, however. "Visions For Life" encourages the sort of inner peace to be found in visions and dreams. It's something of a new age "Imagine" as done by Enya or Loreena McKennitt rather than Lennon.

Iona Leigh finds something like an edge on "Banish The Storm" in a gently volatile melody with dark undertones. It's by far the most intriguing melody and arrangement on the album and Leigh is inspired to open her voice up a bit more than normal here. "Banish The Storm" carries a positive message, but delivers it without the saccharine coating that often pervades new age music and philosophy. "Eyes Of The Soul" is a sweet love song that dances liberally on the border of cliché (and crosses the boundary once or twice). It's a sweet number that is perhaps a bit too gentle to make it as a pop ballad but has all the necessary elements lyrically and melodically. "Ocean Of Dreams" borrows from the Brookstone sound catalog at opening but subsides into a musical whitewash of synthesizer sounds beneath the comely voice of Iona Leigh. Leigh invests the song with a sense of peace that pervades the album as a whole even while the energy of the song seems stuck on auto at times. Wild By Nature closes with the Gregorian Chant-like "Prayer For Trees", an ethereal and lovely tune that's more of a prayer of thanks to trees than for them. It's Leigh's most affecting vocal performance of the album.

Iona Leigh certainly has the voice to be a major player in new age music. I don't believe there's anyone out there who will question Medwyn Goodall's credentials when it comes to new age music either. Together they create pretty works that sound great but lack any real spice or zeal. Leigh's voice is lovely, but that beauty comes at the price of lacking zest or zeal in the performance. It's not a question of whether such things are there, but whether anyone listening at home can tell. Likewise, Goodall's arrangements are beautiful, but the chemistry that one presumes brought Leigh and Goodall together to write and perform Wild By Nature just doesn't translate on the album. Perhaps it shows up live, but it's apparent that Goodall was two involved in the creation of the album to hear it clearly as a producer. What could be striking is merely pretty; what could be dynamic is rendered plain.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Iona Leigh at http://www.ionaleigh.com/ or www.myspace.com/ionaleighmusic.  As of publication of this review, the only online outlet to purchase Wild By Nature is directly from Iona Leigh at her web store.

Kathryn Williams - The Quickening

Kathryn Williams - The Quickening
2010, One Little Indian
Kathryn Williams has become quite the folk hero in her native UK the last few years, maintaining a strong independent streak. In spite of this, Williams took the label plunge with One Little Indian for her eighth album, The Quickening. The greatest challenge listening to The Quickening is keeping up with Williams' vision in her lyrics. More often than not Williams writes songs that more closely resemble a still-life than a story, capturing a single moment or emotion in song without the perspective of wider understanding. She injects these lyrical slices of life into incredibly ambient folk-rock arrangements that sparkle with quiet beauty, but often times the imagery is so esoteric it’s impossible to divine much meaning. Opening with "50 White Lines", Williams documents an ethereal night-time car trip. The imagery is vague but the music is hauntingly beautiful, and Williams' voice is like the soul of a lullaby, lulling the listener to a place beyond dreams.

"Just A Feeling" is self-reflexive; an exercise in making observations on observations and is reminiscent of artists such as Enya or Loreena McKennitt. The music has great flow while the lyrics spiral in free-form fashion. Williams gives more of a dark Celtic feel to "Winter Is Sharp", a highly descriptive yet ineffable tune that balances bleakness and beauty on a fine wire. "Wanting And Waiting" is a high point; a song about the reverie of the workday when you're just waiting to get back home to the one you love. It's a sweet melody, and an example of what Williams is capable of as a songwriter.

"Smoke" is a tragic love song about holding on to someone who won't be held. The rhythmic glockenspiel adds significant emotional impact to the tune. Things get a bit complicated on "Cream Of The Crop", a love song that mixes amour with ambition and ends up over-staying its welcome in the process. The other high point on the album is "Noble Guesses" an astute tune that explores the meaning of gaps in our personal history from looking at a phone album for what's been taking out rather than for what's there. The Quickening closes with "Up North", a love song of sorts intermittently about a person and a place. It's a disconnected moment, both pretty and dark at once.

Kathryn Williams both frustrates and fulfills expectations on The Quickening. At her best, Williams is an enthralling songwriter with a voice you could listen to all day. In less astute moments Williams can either be so lyrically pointed as to lose her listeners or so disjointed as to become lost in her own compositions. On balance, The Quickening is a solid effort, but the potential for greatness is realized here in flashes.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Kathryn Williams at http://www.kathrynwilliams.net/ or www.myspace.com/kathrynwilliams. The Quickening is availavle through Amazon as either a CD or Download.

Review: Jessie Murphy In The Woods - Eight Belles

Jessie Murphy In The Woods - Eight Belles
2009, Rex Records

Sometimes you get into the middle of the recording process and simply realize the sound isn't working for you. That's what happened to Jessie Murphy, then a Masters in Music candidate at Columbia University in New York City. She approached two classmates, Marcia Wood (Wurlitzer, flute, clarinet, harmonica, pan pipes, vox) and Amy Wood (horn, cajon/percussion, flute, melodica, autoharp, vox) and asked them to come along for the ride, not realizing the instant chemistry they would find playing together. From the ruins of one project a primal force of Chamber Pop was born in Jessie Murphy In The Woods. The band has toured the UK (with a feature spot on Cambridge University Radio) and played dates all across the United States. Their first venture into recording together has resulted in Eight Belles, an EP that began making the rounds in mid-2009. Eight Belles holds the magic of a fairy tale and the promise of a troubadour, all wrapped up in the beautiful, gothic tapestry of music woven by Jessie Murphy In The Woods.

Eight Belles opens with New York City Lights, a love-song from Murphy to her constant companion and best friend, the city in which she lives. Murphy's voice is mesmerizing, and the harmonies coming from the Woods create moments so palpable they are almost frozen in time. In The Woods is a song about discovery that could be a metaphor for musical experience of the band, personal experiences, relationships, etc. The lost feeling perhaps implied by the title quickly slips away in the wake of a sense of wonder and an exquisite arrangement that's more Baroque than Pop. Owen Wilson uses a bit of humor to honor all those whose passion or talent drive them to the edge and beyond of societies expectations. When I Am A Horse Again is one of the more unusual musical allegories I've come across, recalling a perfect childhood moment and yearning for the sort of perfection we only know once. Written in a form of lyrical prose, When I Am A Horse Again is strong on imagery and may lose you if you try to get too analytical with the lyrics. Perhaps the biggest surprise on the disc is Eight Belles, a tribute to the horse who nearly took the Kentucky Derby away from Big Brown in 2008 until her ankles gave out. The horse was euthanized but gains immortality in a touching and beautiful song with a melody that's destined to be considered "traditional".

Jessie Murphy In The Woods is a serendipitous coming together of three musicians with singular voices who work together like The Muse's own instrument, creating magic each time they step on stage or in front of a microphone. If there's any basis for a Pop/Classical musical Renaissance, it will start with a band like Jessie Murphy In The Woods. The music presented on Eight Belles is innovative, beautiful constructed and has a distinct air of virtuosity about it. Welcome to the big dance, Jessie Murphy In The Woods. Before the night is over you might just be the belle of the ball.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Jessie Murphy In The Woods at www.myspace.com/jessiemurphyinthewoods, www.myspace.com/jessiemurphy or http://www.jessiemurphyinthewoods.com/. Presently there is no online availability of Eight Belles that I could locate, although if you contact Jessie Murphy In The Woods through their MySpace page I’m sure you can work something out.