Brandi Carlile's voice is simultaneously husky and sweet, full of considerable strength and conviction. Listening to her eponymous debut album is a captivating experience. In the wake of her second album, The Story, and the subsequent Give Up the Ghost, Carlile has gained some well-deserved fame and exposure. She has been a strong artist from the beginning, with an extensive list of well wrought songs and no weaknesses that I can detect. Brandi Carlile is bursting with worthwhile tunes, from the unwavering intensity of Throw it All Away to the seering emotion of Fall Apart Again and What Can I Say.
"As long as the day is full of time,
There will always be room for your hand in mine."
While this isn't technically a debut, if we're counting EPs, Tristan Prettyman's album Twenty-Three is an admirable effort, full of acoustic guitars, sandy shores, and literate songwriting. The single Love, Love, Love is a song whose strong quality endures many repeat listens. But all of the other songs are worth their while, and the album is a journey in its own right. Prettyman's understated musicianship and real-sounding vocals don't fade away; rather, they linger on like a favorite pair of faded old blue jeans, worn by the continual rise and fall of the surf.
"When the summer's here, the waves are crashing
No time for thinking--don't even ask me.
I'm gonna let it all roll right past me
'cause when I'm here I'm always happy."
A Fine Frenzy, AKA Alison Sudol, writes songs of subtle beauty and sensitivity. From the heartrending strains of Almost Lover to the questioning refrain of Ashes and Wine, she is an indomitable presence throughout, backing up her lyrically sensitive and often transcendent vocals with her skills on the piano. A Fine Frenzy's second album, Bomb in a Birdcage, seems somehow narrower and at the same time less universal, although her talent has suffered no loss. But One Cell in the Sea is an enduring and consistent effort, that never loses its appeal.
"All for love, we become
Larger than lifesize, wondersome
Great in the eyes of someone."
Ani Difranco is a assertive and independent songwriter, with a vast repertory that she has been building up since the release of this her debut in 1994. Her prolific artistry and outspoken politics may have the tendency to intimidate anyone who ventures to encounter her music for the first time. But I found the beginning the best place to start. Difranco's songs are personal and poetic, at once angry and conciliatory. But what I fing so compelling is the utter honesty of her lyrics and the emotion underlying this effort. The music is sparse--mainly it consists of her meticulous guitar playing, which perfectly suits the mood and does not detract from the overwhelming beauty of her lyrics.
"Art is why I get up in the morning
and my definition ends there
it doesn't seem fair
that I'm living for something that I can't even define."
Tracy Chapman is, to put it in the simplest terms, a goddess. She sings with a voice that is musical and wounded, suffering from the burdens placed upon it by a cruel world but soaring nevertheless out of its constraints. I have yet to hear a song of hers that I dislike, but her early work continues to be some of her most relevant and universally acclaimed. Her lyrics are disarming in their stark simplicity, and her musical style is unassuming and universal. Some of her best songs deal with social justice, such as Talking 'Bout a Revolution and Why?, but all of her work derives from personal testimony, and some of her strongest are also the most personal, such as Fast Car and For my Lover. Give it a try; you'll be astounded.
I really like the format of the these reviews
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