reviews of new singers & singer-songwriters page 5

Backwater RecordsJamie Clements : Sleep Creases EP (UK,2004)***'

There has already been an overdose in mentioning or associating Nick Drake with singersongwriters in general, but for Jamie Clements I must say that the soft gentleness and guitar play there is an appropriate style reference. The songs seem at first somewhat simple, straight from the heart. Mixed with the guitar play and total presentation he delivers it as something truthful and talented. Besides acoustic guitar, I hear small touches of other instruments here and there (like some flute, mouth harmonica, organ,..). For me it’s just brilliant as it is. Recommended !

Audio : "A tape of our voices"

Info : http://www.backwaterrecords.com/artist_detail.php?ArtistID=14

Asthmatic Kitty Rec. Liz Janes & Create (US,2005)*°

The opener might also be the best track of the album, a slow-steps towards a going-to-sleep mood version of “Lonesome Valley”, accompanied by banjo, bass, some percussion. The whole album clearly is based upon improvisation, with some basic ideas, like a hippie commune thing, a Biblical slave song, and at least some folk leanings or minimal drone -or pretty stagnant- improvisation. Create, the improvisation group, is supposed to be a “free jazz” sextet, which isn’t really noticeable, because they improvise mostly in minor and in pretty minimal or hardly evolving melodic modes. “Jesus is a Dying bed-maker” has open acoustic guitars and bass. “Run Ol' Jeremiah/Keep Your Hands on the Plow” starts with simple handclap, bass and drums with a commune like drone, without the spiritual effect, instead it’s repetitive, seemingly psychedelic without being so because it remains in a kind of inspirational laziness, then changes into a kind of country-blues stonedness, but remains too long, and is without too much happening and is too repetitive to compete with any of the true psychedelic commune based groups I know of. In general Liz Janes seems to sing and improvise on the edge of falling asleep. At one point she sings sometimes like a blues singer without too much inspiration or energy, singing from this almost masochist condition of indifference as if she’s wrapped in a sack and doesn’t care. Also there is a too much overload of simplistic bass all over the place and too much two note improvisation being mistaken for mood creativity. I can say is that all tracks fit well together, much better than on the first album, but there’s a lack a real content to connect just anything of what has been started with an overload of simplicity.

Homepage : http://www.industrialbeauty.com/lizjanes/

Info : http://www.asthmatickitty.com/music.php?releaseID=22

& http://www.midheaven.com/artists/janes.liz.and.create.html

& http://store.milesofmusic.com/Compact_Discs/Liz_Janes/33585.html

Private Ruth Minnikin : EP (CAN,2003)***° (ex)

When I first heard Ruth’s voice from one track called “Maiden Voyage”, through the internet, it was immediately reminiscent of a voice like Jolie Holland, and I noticed its full and strong expressive potential. It is also a very beautiful song. I must still say Ruth seems also to have some inspiration rooted in folk country, perhaps textually (like on "this heavy heart", here mixed with some "blues" feeling), or musically. The first comparison seems to be a bit quickly made, but I still like her voice colour very much. She also knows how to be emotionally effective with her voice. Also, every track is worked out very nicely with a band (with acoustic guitar, mandolin, French horn, and here and on two tracks some Hawaiian pedal steel guitar and some barely noticeable percussion). All roots are transformed to a very personal expression, and with attention to detail, that it works, and that makes this release just perfect as it is. I must say I fully enjoyed each listen. Recommended.

Private Ruth Minnikin : Marooned and blue (CAN,2004)**°' (g->ex)

This is the first full release by Ruth Minnikin and her band. The release sounds very consistent, often like a rock band release, rather than just a singer-songwriter backed by a band. A number of tracks set the tone with Hawaian pedal steel guitar. The use of the french horn I think fits very well in the sound of the band, though it’s not really missed when it’s not there, but it combines very well with this band. I thought at first the emotionality in the songs and singing emotionality stands out a bit less than on the demo, and that it is more the complete band production result which might have become most important, perhaps as meant for a demo for live gigs. But after some listens I noticed not every detail had reveiled itself immediately. There surely are various tracks that showed this to me only after some listens (like "NYC", "Behind bars", "Marooned"). One or two tracks, like the last track, are too country for my taste. Personally I prefer to hear Ruth’s personal side to come across well, rather than being submerged too much in a band identity. An enjoyable album.

Homepage (with links to other reviews) : http://www.ruthminnikin.ca/

Listen to demo version of debute : http://www.newmusiccanada.ca/genres/artist.cfm?Band_Id=11557

Listen to live at CBS radio here ; info : http://www.justconcerts.com/concerts/concert.cfm?Concert_Id=327

Some other on line reviews : http://www.healthyconcerts.com/reviews/?x=|action=search|Artist_ID=268

Interview : http://ladyfriend.ca/numberone/minnikin.html

Rough TradeEmiliana Torrini : Fisherman's Woman (ICE/UK,2004)****° (classic)

It’s really weird how, for me reality often seems to become harder and harsher and more inhumane every day, in a more and more politically governed society, while there also is first of all an increasing number of creativity from ordinary people with a true humane aspect, and amazingly too, there’s also more true gentleness in music, like with Emiliana Torrini, a music which leaves self-concerned melancholy behind, keeps an open vision, and spreads a positive energy wherever it can. It’s like the beauty of an inside philosophy after pain, that wins, more than those victimized who prefer to reflect those feelings of lost moments of being most important (who rarely if ever transcend their extreme perspective). Gentleness is not necessarily naïve and over-protected. Being ready to be like this, with an adult vision, really gives this society exactly what it needs, like in the voice and visions of Emiliana Torrini. We hear a very intimate sparse sound of voice and guitar, and neat minimal accompaniment. The voice carries all music attention away, so much so that one hardly notices how it is so well textured and that it brings even more life to it. A detail, a feather light accordion, was immediately noticed on “Lifesaver”. Further, all kinds of guitars, some percussion and a few other instruments are nothing but the perfect stimulation of the underlying loveliness. Only the short “Fisherman’s Woman” is lead by piano instead of guitars and textured sounds.

Emiliana Torrini is half Icelandic, half Italian. She grew up in Iceland and spent her teen summers in Germany. Later she moved to Brixton, spend some time in America. She “wanted to move to India, learn the classical techniques there, then move to Bulgaria, be a gypsy, and learn the techniques, and keep moving and learning new ways of singing” – but instead she came to England and made this record, which is in fact her third album if you count her modestly made earlier song collection (partly triphop?) albums too. I noticed more far North artists have this cold-is-skin-and-warm-is-the-heart gentle character. Emiliana shows even more, the world-is-my-perspective type of inspired strength to it, making her music immediately reflective for a wider audience, to be able to touch almost anyone’s heart from the first note to the last.

Audio : "Lifesaver" (=available on limited vinyl edition); "Sunny Road", "Snow", "Nothing brings me down"

Video : "Sunnyroad" see http://emiliana.inside-systems.de/news.htm

Review with audio : http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?...

Homepage : http://www.emilianatorrini.com/ & http://www.emiliana.de/ & http://www.indian.co.uk/emilianatorrini/ & http://www.labels.tm.fr/fr/artiste.asp?artiste=TO064

Fansite : http://www.emiliana.nu/ Bio : http://www.peoplesound.com/artist/emiliana_torrini/

Some more info : http://www.auralgasms.com/default.aspx?BandID=torrini

Concert review : http://www.phase9.tv/musicreviews/emilianatorrini-c.htm

Lyrics : http://www.alwaysontherun.net/emiliana.htm

Other review : http://www.gigwise.com/contents.asp?contentid=3585

& http://www.contactmusic.com/new/home.nsf/webpages/emilianax04x01x05

& http://forums.musicshopper.info/..

Dutch article : http://www.kindamuzik.net/features/article.shtml?id=8412

Secretely CanadianJens Lekman : When I said I wanted to be your dog (S,2004)°° (ok)

What I noticed immediately was a warm young voice, nice arrangements and a good portion of gentleness and friendliness. After the song “Tram number 7 to heaven”, a child like song, I thought the textual talent would be a bit more as from an adult. But the next two tracks have an obvious nursery rhyme kind of poetry. The textual part is in simple English (Jens is Swedish). The vision behind it is from a not long ago graduated youngster with big portion of interest in girls. Jens looks into the camera with the attractive boy-look in his eyes, for girls who like boys who are not completely grown up. In this context, while some of these boys still look for the same protection in a girl as with a mother, they look mostly less harmful to them. But when it comes to a balanced responsible communication, these boys have no experience or awareness yet or nothing to fall back on, so they keep looking a bit longer to feel at least the tension of young purity. The songs are well presented and attractive. Here and there we hear nice backing female vocals, similar like in Cohens work. There are some orchestrations here, which I found most successful on “Happy Birtday, dear friend Lisa”. A nice album. I just hope Jens' vision will grow with his age. The musical form is already attractive.

Audio : "You are the Light"

Info on artist : http://www.secretlycanadian.com/jenslekman/

with this release : http://www.secretlycanadian.com/catalog/sc107.htm

& audio track of outtakes : http://www.secretlycanadian.com/jenslekman/dept.htm

Homepage : http://www.jenslekman.tk/

With this release : http://www.secretlycanadian.com/catalog/sc107.htm

PS. A much better album covering the maturing progress from a child's view growing into adultery is David Bowie's first album from 1967.

Domino Rec.Bonnie "Prince" Billy : sings No More Workhorse Blues EP (US,2004)*** (vg)

Bonnie “Prince” Billie is one of the projects of Will Oldham’s Palace Music collective. For me their first album was one of the most successful, powerful, and very dark in some way but with clear expression. But Palace Music was suddenly releasing so many albums that after a while I lost track. A very strong point is Will’s slightly broken emotional voice, on the edge of a serious depression, refocusing everything through creativity. A weak point sometimes was that some inspiration was too much of the 'quick take' of an inspired moment. With enough luck and control it’s genius, but sometimes it cannot go deep enough and be musically structured without at least some roughness that most moments still have, even with all intentions of to be concentrated on the energy.

This EP shows concentrated ideas, not just for the direct action, but with seemingly thought over arrangements. “No more workhorse blues” is a different version of the song off the second B”P”B release, here with steel pedal or slide guitar, country violin and piano, with a slight 'reactive' country blues emotion to it. The two other tracks are predating future work. “Ruby” starting as a quiet hush expression, gets an new element I haven’t heard with Will Oldham before. It’s not only the modern production in the details, I also hear a heavy emotional outburst somewhere, almost "metal"-like. The last track, “The Kiss” has nice "rainy" guitar on the background. All three tracks have an underlying darkness, with some little colours shining true, just like the cover shows us. This little brightness provides enough expression, for the listener in a quiet mood.

There’s also added an additional video by Harmony Korine of the title track, “No More Workhorse Blues”. The label calls it themselves a “disturbing video”. I don’t know why ; I also don’t know why some of the so called almost schocking details are presented in it the way they are. I do like a lot the idea of looping these very short time movements, which make the video almost like a collection of pictures from a photobook.

Official site : http://www.bonnieprincebilly.com/ Fan page : http://users.bart.nl/~ljmeijer/oldham/index.htm

Info on Oldham : http://www.dominorecordco.com/artist.php?artist=39 (see also 'artists links' in there)

Info on this release : http://www.dominorecordco.com/catalogue.php?release=533

Other review : http://www.musicomh.com/singles2/bonnie-prince-billy.htm &

http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/10464.html

Asthmatic Kitty Rec. Liz Janes : Poison & Snakes (US,2004)*°° (ok->vg/ex)

By the first couple of tracks I almost misjudged the multitalented Liz Janes. Most of the music and songs on the first tracks of the album for me are too much leaning on recognisable obvious tunes, to too easy self-confident country-rock repetitions-that-have-been-heard too much before, to that kind of music which for me is painfully conservative, hearing this in a musical form or used by a so called Singer/Songwriting Rock artist. She even thanks, like a good old Christian is supposed to, “Good God in heaven”. I thought..”For God’s sake.” But after the for me preferable forgettable public-pleasing “Wonderkiller” and the still somewhat easy inspiration in poprock on “Streetlight”, the rest of the album seems to be quite good ! “Sets to cleaning” for instance, in a barren blues mode, works well for me, because it’s much more the real thing coming from inside the artist, and not just made for outside the barn or for the watchers on their barstools. It has emotionality in the lower registers, is penetrating, varied and personal in the singing, with a cheap sounding guitar accompaniment, taking the thing down to a raw I-do-what-I-want attitude. Also “Ocean” shows the emotionality in her voice. And the off-beats, of the picked-upfrom-the-streets kind of intuitive drummer, fits with the personal thing quite well too, making it the listener not too much overcomfortable or to something obvious, rhythmically. Liz's voice will do that instead, in a sensitive way, here also with choir arrangements, accompanied by some acoustic and amplified guitar, and some cello arrangements (by Charles Curtis). “Vine” works well too, with voice arrangements, and with electric guitar and drums outbursts. “Deep Sea Diver” surprises again at first, starting with slow, beautiful experimental sounds, before it switches modes with weird voice choruses and amplified guitars peaks. Nice. “Desert” is a peaceful moment, an easy atmospheric instrumental with some background singing to the music, somewhat leaning to jazz-fusion ambient indierock or something. “Go Between” is a fine folkpoprock track, and last track, “Baby Song” with ukulele, sounds like a simple, old country blues lullaby.

The first two tracks don’t reflect to much of Liz's talent, but her interests seem to be varied as well, not all too selectively focused.

Homepage : http://www.sppr.net/lizjanes/

Label's entry : http://www.asthmatickitty.com/music/lj_pns.htm

Label's info on Liz : http://www.asthmatickitty.com/contributors/lj.html

Other reviews : http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/j/janes_liz/poison-and-snakes.shtml

& http://www.copperpress.com/new/reviews/html/112204lizjanes.html

& http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/l/lizjanes-poison.shtml

& http://www.adequacy.net/review.php?reviewid=4862

& http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=2500

& http://www.digitalisindustries.com/foxyd/lizjanes_poison.html

& http://indieworkshop.com/reviews/1137/

& http://www.opuszine.com/music/review.html?reviewID=821

& http://www.tollbooth.org/2004/reviews/ljanes.html

& http://www.allegro-music.com/online_catalog.asp?sku_tag=ASK310

JagjaguwarRichard Youngs : River through howling Sky (UK,2004)**°'

Really strange how the amplified guitar chords are taken so slowly, step by step, and the bass is nothing but a confirming rhythm, and the percussion an even larger minimal large step, and the singing / words are the actual lead. In this way the singer-songwriting concept isn’t changed upside down, but the different rhythmical aspects makes it more experimental, almost avant-garde, within the recognisable standards (in the beginning confusingly slowly). The second track “Blossom”, is an even more a “normal” song, with enough space to breath, and a wide time-span to listen to the experiment of sounds itself, thanks to the stretched melodic evolution of the instrumental part. “Sky upon you” is a shorter song, even more into a normal time-span vision, with acoustic guitar, some electronica, and some similar electric guitar arpeggios, and some more ethereal synthesizers on the background, with a large section for the instrumental bit. Last 24 minute track, "Red Cloud Singluar" closes the section, in the left over water ripples mood of the instrumental concept, with the singer expressing its vision further and similarly, until he's becomming more and more a whole with the expressive musical undulations. In some way the ideas here are minimal and standardized further, depending on the whole slow evolution. Perhaps the looped repetitions in the last track might be a bit long, even when the expressions needs length to show its strength this way inside the calmness. I still think the musical concept was, in a deep concentrated listen, successful in expressing a "RIVER -the musical evolution- THROUGH HOWLING SKY -as the electric guitar-"

Info-sheet here ; label info : http://www.jagjaguwar.com/catalog/jag68.htm

Other reviews : http://www.adequacy.net/review.php?reviewid=4017

& http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/y/youngs_richard/river-through-howling-sky.shtml

French review : http://www.xsilence.net/disque-1210.htm

Domino Rec.Adem : These are your friends (single) (UK,2004)***°

I’m glad I can check thoroughly an EP by this artist. Really a shame that instead of being able to make a single a real 'art piece', artists or companies seems to be obliged to add (here as a first track) a “radio edit” version edited to within 5 minutes, because a 6 and half minute song doesn’t get broadcast. This tells me a lot about the hectic superficiality of too many radioshows and radiostations, that this still seems really necessary. At least it's not so in my show.* “These are your friends” makes me a musical friend. It's a song of warmth for friendship (with acoustic guitar, xylophone, bass, percussion, and a chorus part “celebration-for-this”). “After the storm” sounds like a sad but simple Tsunami-event related song…written before it happened. It’s accompanied by acoustic guitar, and some banjo. After an interlude with backstage mouthharmonica waves (called the “Tunnel Interlude"), a thumbpiano (and later a metalophone) accompanied the first words of “Let it burn”, a dark song with hope for a new chance, with gentle and tenderness remaining intact.

A nice single release that makes me look for more.

On the very nice video of "These are your friends" the friends seems to be the nice artwork-like creations of birds and other kind of creatures, which are also presented on his homepage.

Homepage : http://www.adem.tv/

Label info on artist : http://www.dominorecordco.com/artist.php?artist=167

Label info on release: http://www.dominorecordco.com/catalogue.php?release=506

Article on Adem : http://www.gigwise.com/contents.asp?contentid=2209

Audio with review : http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=13704

Other reviews : http://www.phase9.tv/musicreviews/adem-theseareyourfriends-s.htm &

http://www.allgigs.co.uk/Reviews.php?review=Katherine+Tomlinson%2Fadem-theseareyourfriends

Domino Rec. Hood : Outside Closer (UK,2004)*° (good)

This release is much more pop related than the other releases on this page, and it only some songs fit in with my interests, so I won’t review it in too much detail because I don’t see myself as being able to do that too well. Of course the production is technically professional with a wide range of spacey arrangements. These arrangements have simple broken beats, acoustic leanings, and a variety of alternative sounds, some orchestrations, and some soft (indie)rock elements. The dreamy elements don’t show for me an intuitive emotion, so the production replaces this with all kinds of technically perfectly interesting sounds. It might be satisfying for most listeners, but unfortunately it doesn’t feed my apetite for a deeper inside experience.

Audio : “The lost you” ; Review with more audio : http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=16093

Homepage : http://www.hoodmusic.net/

Other reviews : http://www.cmj.com/articles/display_article.php?id=3547384

& http://playlouder.com/review/+outsidecloser/

& http://www.mundanesounds.com/record_review.php?id=1133

French review : http://www.m-la-music.net/article.php3?id_article=1966