Morgan Bracy - The End Of Cinderella

Morgan Bracy - The End Of Cinderella
2011, Morgan Bracy

Morgan Bracy grew up in a small townin Tennessee, singing in church and writing songs from a young age.  It wasn’t until she left home for MiddleTennessee State University that Bracy truly bloomed as an artist, however.  Working with the group Broken Pottery, Bracyfound her own voice as a songwriter.  Shereleased her debut album, Dirty Laundry,in 2007, and was introduced to producer John Merchant (Barbra Streisand, TheBee Gees, Celine Dion).   Merchant likedwhat he heard, and wanted to help Bracy find the full potential of hersound.  The two began working on thealbum The End Of Cinderella, a songcycle centering on tales of fairy tales gone awry.  It is in this emotional wellspring whereBracy shines brightest, portraying each story and character as if it weresomehow her own.

"The End Of Cinderella" isa coming of age song; a heartbreaking realization that real life is not afairytale. Bracy's performance here is fully committed, and here powerful,sometimes tinny voice (ala Susanna Hoffs or Jess Klein) is compelling."She Believes" is a middle of the road pop/country number aboutdomestic violence, and how the belief in fairytales can keep someone in a badrelationship. Bracy concocts a solid melody and a memorable chorus here, in asong with moderate commercial appeal. "Silence" decries someone whois absent even when he is there. It's a self-realization that things aren'tgoing to change, wrapped up in an edgy pop arrangement that gets your toestapping. Bracy's lyrics flow like water, and her voice punches the melody linewith conviction.

"The Looking Glass"examines self worth and insecurity in a powerful, musically dense ballad thatwalks the line between pop and country in style and sound. Bracy continues toshow vocal power, but also shows a subtlety of phrasing that contrasts wellwith her pure force as a singer. Bracy's interpretation of Randy Newman's"When She Loved Me" (from Toy Story #?) is lovely and lush, full ofstrings and a wonderful counter-melody in the piano part. Bracy ventures intofull soprano range at one point in the song, and it sounds, at first, if thingsmight fall apart, but she holds it together and turns in a nice performance."When The Spell Is Broken" has a more soulful feel, with Bracy'ssoulful alto getting more exposure. The verses are solid, but the chorus isvery memorable - the type you don't shake right away.

"Real Life Fairytale" is abuoyant little love song with distinct pop sensibilities. When Bracy singsabout the quiet ecstasy of falling in love, it's as if she's experiencing itall right in the moment. This is a brilliant tune. "Between TheCovers" is about the anticipation of what is to come in life and thetransformation from looking ahead to living in the moment. Bracy closes with"Love, Believe In Me" is a song of longing from one who sees love allaround here but hasn't found it herself. The simple, guitar-based arrangementis simple and lovely, playing the perfect complement to Bracy’s voice and tothat of her vocal counterpart.

The End Of Cinderella is the musical portrait of an artist who deserves much moreexposure than she's gained to date. Bracy's songwriting is compact andpolished, but full of heart. She performs each song as if the ideas andemotions within are occurring at that very moment.  If Bracy carries this kind of presence to thestage, then concert goers will never want her shows to end. Morgan Bracy is thereal deal, and The End Of Cinderellais an essential album

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more at www.morganbracy.com or www.myspace.com/morganbracy. 

             CD                 Download                    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.

Aron Lyrd - Lucid Dreams (aka Hits)

Aron Lyrd – Lucid Dreams (aka Hits)
2010, Aron Lyrd

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania singer/songwriter Aron Lyrd struggles through his fifth album, Lucid Dreams, a messy musical menagerie strongly influenced by 1970's pop that is without focus. Lyrd achieves some nice moments, such as the opening track "All The Time, It Is Mine", sounding like 1970's AM radio rock with a light R&B touch. "Just Wasting Time" is a solid track; mildly catchy with solid energy. This anti-love song advises a friend to kick her current boyfriend to the curb. The deep seated implication that the narrator might be a better option is between the lines. Lyrd channels The Kinks on "The Sun Is Out", a relationship reminiscence that looks back over years. Lyrd's voice is very pleasant here.

"Orange Ambition" has potential, but the recording quality here isn't worthy of a professional release. Lyrd sounds like his vocals were recorded inside of a containment tube, and the overall low-fi quality of the recording sounds amateurish. Lyrd veers into club noise with "Get Up, Come On"; seven-and-a-half minutes of beats and noise that's more like a musical run-on sentence than a song. "Asking For Just Too Much" is a vibrant bit of dance rock that finds Lyrd sounding a bit like Escape Club. We get to hear Lyrd's falsetto voice on "Tough Day, Alright Night", a non-committal bit of dance pop that simply doesn't work. One gets the impression that Lyrd is going for a Bee Gees vibe, but it ends up sounding more like satire than a serious attempt at song. Much the same can be said about "Enter Leave Don't Take My Heart", which perhaps should have been resigned to the archives.

Aron Lyrd is very early in his development as a songwriter. The material here is perhaps meant more as a demo than a commercial release, but sometimes less is more. Focusing on four or five tracks with the most potential and making the most of them might serve Lyrd better than putting out a larger quantity of music with less care. Lyrd seems to have his eyes on the big time with a MySpace page that claims over fifteen million spins. Consequently there is no doubt about Lyrd's creativity, but Lucid Dreams is a stretch that didn't need to be made. There are however kernels here with potential.

Rating: 1.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Aron Lyrd at www.myspace.com/aaronblaird or www.myspace.com/aronlyrdmusic.  You can purchase Lucid Dreams digitally from Amazon.com, CDBaby or iTunes.  Please note that iTunes has the album under the title Lucid Dreams while Amazon and CDBaby have it under the title Hits with a slightly different track listing.