Shelly Fraley - Into The Sun

Shelly Fraley - Into The Sun
2011, Hinterland House Publishing Co.

Native Kansan and Nashvilletransplant Shelly Fraley began writing songs at a young age on an out-of-tunechurch piano. Inspired by the pop music of her youth, Fraley developed a strongsense of melody and an appreciation for great hooks that lights up hersongwriting with verve and panache. Fraley seems to have struck a chord alongthe line, with her songs featured on such shows as Private Practice, OneTree Hill, Army Wives and Pretty Little Liars. Fraley continues tobuild momentum on the back of her debut album, Into The Sun, whileembarking on an East Coast tour of the U.S. in the Fall of 2011.

Into The Sun opens with "Sway", showing off a lush poparrangement and sultry voice ala Canadian chanteuse Sarah Slean. "Come On,Let Go" is a catchy, bouncy pop tune about inertia in relationships, andhaving the courage to let go when the time is right. Fraley's chorus is thesort that sticks with you, replaying itself in your mind long after the song isover. "Two At A Time" is a cute song of reminiscence of the joy andexcitement of new love. Reserved in approach, Fraley nonetheless manages tocreate a catchy and memorable pop number with substance. "Up, Up &Away" seems the most likely hit here; a shiny bit of pop gold with arootsy base that gets in your skull and stays there.

On "Be Brave", Fraley ispsyching herself up to talk to someone she can't get out of her head. She knowshe likes her too but just can't seem to make the first move. The song iswonderfully authentic, steeped in the normal neuroses of insecurity that plagueus all when trying to interact with others. "Uh Oh I'm Fallin'" is alight and fluffy number about the pure elation of falling in love. Fraley nailsthe moment, encapsulating it in a musical atmosphere that's perfect for hersubject. "Seize The Day" is all about picking up the pieces andmoving on. A positive message in difficult light, the song itself is a solidalbum track, but Fraley's addition of strings to fill out the arrangement is anice touch. Into The Sun closes with "Hi, Hi, Hi", exploringthe circular nature of an on-again, off-again relationship. Fraley pulls offanother memorable chorus in the process, writing a tune that will call you backand encourage you to hit play again.

Fraley contributes piano and voiceon Into The Sun, but gets some help from alumni of the Josh Gracin Band,Sixpence None The Richer, Outsiders and Tonic along the way. Producer Mark Nash(PFR, Sixpence None The Richer) helps Fraley construct a musical tableau thatputs her personal observations in song in their best light. There's adistinctive pop feel that pervades Into The Sun, but also a messy,organic side that makes Fraley's songwriting accessible and authentic to thelistener at home. Into The Sun is a great start.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Shelly Fraley at www.shellyfraley.comor www.myspace.com/shellyfraley.  IntoThe Sun is available from Amazon.com as a CD or Download.  The album is also available via iTunes.

Yael Naim - She Was A Boy

Yael Naim - She Was A Boy
2011, tot Ou tard / VF Musiques

Yael Naim rocketed into international consciousness back in 2008, due to the inclusion of her song “New Soul” in an Apple advertisement.  While this break was real and palpable, it’s hard to imagine someone with the talent of Naim not making it.  Together with collaborator Davd Donatien, Naim has spent much of the last two years in her Parisian flat/recording studio, writing and recording material for her sophomore album, She Was A Boy.  The album is due for US release on May 10, 2011 digitally and May 17, 2011 on CD.

She Was A Boy opens with "Come Home, a catchy bit of mellow pop/jazz fleshed out with orchestration. The arrangement is silky smooth and showcases Naim's wonderfully breathy alto perfectly.  "My Dreams" is an interesting blend of pop, jazz, new age and world music.  Beauty, urgency and need are all portrayed as part of the whole in the most sonically intriguing song on the album.  "She Was A Boy" plays with middle eastern scales in a catchy bit of orchestrated pop music. Yael Naim is no stranger to notoriety.  "New Soul", featured on Yael Naim, turned into a sensation overnight with its inclusion in a MacBook Air commercial.  That may be nothing compared to "Go To The River", which is one of the catchiest songs of 2011 so far.  You won't be able to get this song out of your head for days at a time.  Naim uses layered voices to create syncopated harmonies and rhythm on a chorus you will never forget.

"Never Change" features heavy southern European influences and a cantering pace to highlight a memorable melody.  It's a solid changeup from "Go To The River" that's subtle but perhaps just as unique in its own right.  "Today" is personal and compelling, and features Naim's best vocal performance on the album.  Her voice is utterly breathtaking in a song of heartbreak and yearning for something more.  The orchestration builds layers into the sound that are compellingly lush.  "Mystical Love" shows another side to Yael Naim, sounding a bit like something that might have been written through collaboration between Tori Amos and Andrew Lloyd Webber in the early 1970's.  The song is highly original and quirky in construction, showing a deep melodic sensibility with pop pretensions but a highly original sense of musical vision.

"Man Of Another Women" takes on a middle eastern flair in an intriguing number that may catch you by surprise.  It's one of those songs you don't necessarily pay active attention to the first time you hear it, but find yourself humming later and perhaps uncertain where you heard it from.  "Puppet" has pure sonic appeal, with Yael Naim sounding a bit like Milla Jovovich but with a middle eastern rather than slavic influence.  "If I Lost The Best Thing" is a highly personal and heartfelt number that is gorgeous in both instrumentation and vocals.  Naim replicates these qualities on the closing track, "Game Is Over". 

Whereas 2008's Yael Naim balanced French and English fairly equally, Naim sticks with mostly English on She Was A Boy.  The songs offered here show a musical depth that is rarely on display in pop music.  Yael Naim creates songs full of emotional and musical substance that speak to you from the depths of her worldly experience.  The songwriting on She Was A Boy is compelling, and the sounds, whether instrumental or vocal, spend much of the time surpassing beauty.  This is not an album to ignore of pass by.  She Was A Boy is a Wildy’s World Certified Desert Island Disc.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Yael Naim at www.yaelweb.com or www.myspace.com/yaelnaim.  She Was A Boy is due for release on May 10, 2011 for digital and May 17, 2011 on CD.  You can pre-order the album through Amazon.com on CD or as a Download.  iTunes has yet to post a link to pre-order the album, but expect one shortly.

Sasha And The Indulgents - Love In A Box

Sasha And The Indulgents - Love In A Box
2010, Sasha Papernik

Sasha Papernik will surprise you.  The conservatory-trained classical pianist has been winning national and international piano competitions since the age of eight, but Papernik has never been able to shy away from the freedom of rock music.  Lyric ballads have grown into vibrant rockers, or been spiced up with blinding fast piano runs that strike like lightning and disappear just as quickly.  The Boston-born singer/songwriter has been haunting the clubs of New York City and New England for a few years now with unaffected pop music that's a cousin to that of Tori Amos, Kate Bush and Sarah Slean.  Papernik's band, Sasha And The Indulgents, released their second album in late 2010; a quirky eight-song collection entitled Love In A Box.

Sasha And The Indulgents opens with the musical split personality of the title track.  "Love In A Box" opens as a depressed and dreamy rumination, but transforms into a quirky, angular pop chorus that's incredibly infectious.  Papernik displays an animated, vaguely demented and theatrical style here that is hard not to get into.  "Carolina" is an intriguing dream-pop number about someone who is chasing down her dreams in spite of what family and friends might say.  It's an ode to someone who has given up everything to get her deepest wish.  There's a mild country/Americana flavor in this mellow arrangement that is appealing.  "Edges Of Your Mind" is a bit obtuse in imagery, but is built on a wonderfully vibrant piano progression. 

"I Read The Letter" is an interesting bit of piano pop, channeling the manic feel that tends to infuse Papernik's songs into an edgy and vibrant arrangement that dances on the edge of exploding.  "Would You Like Me" is a great pictorial in song of romance from the perspective of an emotional chameleon that is honest in her dysfunction.  The chorus here is highly memorable, and the dramatic sensibility of the narrator approaches a brittle break without ever quite breaching the divide.  "Chasing Hours" is perhaps the cleanest piano-pop song on the album; a gentle ballad that's full of simple beauty and emotion.  Unfortunately the production on this track isn't what it might be.  Love In A Box bows with "Ten Thousand Dreams", a dreamy, sparse number in a quasi-chanson style.  Sasha Papernik's voice is angelic here, and the atmosphere one of heartbreaking beauty.

Sasha And The Indulgents hit listeners where they live on Love In A Box, delivering quirky, unusually placed pop music full of beauty, grace and honest thoughts and emotion.  Without affectation or device, Sasha Papernik dwells on the beauty of human imperfection and nobility in song.  Love In A Box doesn't play by the rules of pop music, speaking of real lives and real people in a real voice.  If you hunger for honesty in art, then Love In A Box is gift-wrapped just for you.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Sasha And The Indulgents at www.sashatheband.com or www.myspace.com/sashaandtheindulgents.  Love In A Box is available from Amazon.com as a CD or Download.  The album is also available via iTunes.

Phoebe Legere - Ooh La La Coq Tail

Phoebe Legere - Ooh La La Coq Tail
2010, Mysterious Ways / ESP Disk

Rule #1 - never start a review with the statement "there's no one quite like....".  The first thing that will happen is you'll get thirty or forty e-mails, usually from a small group of a dozen or so Google-happy music buffs who live for refuting such statements.  Besides, it's trite and overdone.  That being said, there is quite literally, no one like Phoebe Legere.  One of the most original jazz pianists of generation, Legere has never stood still long enough to be classified definitively.  A classically trained pianist who fell in love with jazz, Legere studied at the New England Conservatory in high school.  Her four-octave voice also led her to sing with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the age of sixteen.  Signed by EPIC records as a teenager, Legere has gone to build a significant catalog of work in jazz and electronic music.  The Pulitzer-Prize nominated composer gets back to her roots on Ooh La La Coq Tail, blending French Musette, Jazz, Pop and Baroque Chamber styles in a whirlwind of class and charm.

Ooh La La Coq Tail opens with "Que Rest T'Il De Nos Amours?” a healthy dose of French cabaret jazz.  Legere's low-key, nuanced arrangement sidles up next to you and gathers your attention with a warmth and sensuality that's intriguing.  Legere's beautifully clear voice is the perfect complement and spoil to the arrangement.  "I Love Myself When I'm With You" features Legere in a duet with George Leonard.  His Steve Lawrence-inspired talk/sing style is a perfect complement to Legere's vocal glamour in a number that sounds like it was spawned from a 1940's movie musical.  "Under Paris Skies" features Legere in a stunning vocal performance in the chanson style.  Legere's voice is full of intricate tones and textures, providing a spine-tingling 'wow' moment. 

Legere starts out "Prelude To A Kiss" in a breathy, forced alto below her comfortable range.  Once she breaks out into her upper register you'll forget the slight detour, but the opening isn't a great reflection of what Legere can do.  "Sometimes It Snows In Las Vegas" is a piano-driven pop/jazz number.  Legere handles it with aplomb.  Legere launches herself into "Hot Sicilian Pizza Boy" with an enthusiasm and wit that is simply stunning.  It's an entertaining turn, and gives listeners a glimpse of the pure magnetism Legere communicates on stage.  "Sex Is Love" explores differences in perspective on the world's favorite past time.  This is great songwriting, plain and simple.

Legere offers up "Nancy", a love song with surprisingly uncertain pacing.  It's not a bad song, but something just doesn't go right in the dynamic built here.  Legere recovers nicely on "Playing Me Like A Piano", an innuendo-laden jazz ballad that Legere makes even better with her voice.  "Just One Of Those Things" is presented in French as an up-tempo number.  Legere instills the song with verve and a sense of class that's unmistakable.  Ooh La La Coq Tail closes a solid rendition of "Paris Je T'Aime" and a lovely piano instrumental entitled "Earth Singing World".  Here Legere blends styles and substance in expansive piano passages that display her subtle style, extreme melodicism and sense of freedom on the piano.

Phoebe Legere is a treasure; a name touted by musical cognoscenti but often not recognized for her talents outside of a core group of fans and music professionals.  While artists such as Diana Krall and Norah Jones have earned raves and racked up millions in album sales for pop-influenced jazz numbers with strong connections to the American songbook, Legere continues to challenge boundaries and classification every time she sits at the piano.  Ooh La La Coq Tail has a couple of quiet moments, but Legere consistently provides excellence in both her compositions and performance.  This album is a definite keeper.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Phoebe Legere at http://www.phoebelegere.com/ or www.myspace.com/sexbrain.   Ooh La La Coq Tail is available digitally from Amazon.com and iTunes.