POP NOTES
Overlooked, underplayed: CDs that deserve noting
BY ELLIS WIDNER ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
A look at some new music by artists you may not have heard of, but should hear: Tres Chicas, Bloom, Red and the Ordinary Girl, Yep Roc. This trio began as a side project with the album Sweetwater. Tres Chicas — Caitlin Cary, formerly of Whiskeytown; Tonya Lamm of Hazeldine; and Lynn Blakey of Glory Fountain — is now these three’s main event. Their second album is less rootsy, but has an appealing jazz and pop flavor with touches of folk and R&B. “Stone Love Song” is torchy, while “All the Shade Trees in Bloom” has a gorgeous chorus. Rich harmonies add to the appeal, as does Cary’s feisty fiddle work. Grade: B RobinElla, Solace for the Lonely, Dualtone. Singer RobinElla Contreras has a loose, way-cool voice that is rootsy, earthy and sophisticated. Like singer Maria Muldaur, she can cross musical genres with ease and sound perfectly natural doing so. This mature and elegant music is rooted in country and blues as it explores pop, bluegrass, jazz and other sounds and taps into the range of human emotions. RobinElla’s voice captivates on the jazzy “Break It Down Baby” and “I Fall in Love as Much as I Can,” and a surprisingly sexy take on Melanie’s “Brand New Key.” Dig the scat vocal on “All I’ve Given” and the spiritual power of “Down the Mountain.” If you’ve heard Corinne Bailey Rae, don’t pass up RobinElla. Grade: A Azam Ali, Elysium for the Brave, Six Degrees. As the lead singer of world music groups Vas and Niyaz, Azam Ali sang a multicultural blend of ancient and modern styles. Ali makes impressive strides on her second solo album, working with an array of collaborators (Japanese percussionist Kodo, Chris Venna of Nine Inch Nails, Mercan Dede and Mickey Hart) on this intoxicating and original music. Iranian-born, India-reared Ali has a stunningly beautiful voice that seems to defy convention on this mostly-in-English album. The electronics enhance her rich, haunting voice and the often ancient-sounding instrumentation. This is world fusion music that soars beyond New Age in groundbreaking, thrilling ways. Grade: AAnne Kerry Ford, Weill, Illyria. Fans of composer Kurt Weill will find his songs extremely well served by cabaret singer Anne Kerry Ford in this mostly live recording with the WDR Big Band in Cologne, Germany. Kerry, who starred in a Broadway revival of The Threepenny Opera, has a big theatrical voice that uses an actress’ instincts to expose and illuminate emotional shadings. Ford’s voice aches with pain, yearning and heartache. There’s a rich variety of tunes here; songs Weill wrote with Ira Gershwin, Ogden Nash and his best-known collaborator, Bertolt Brecht. “I’m a Stranger Here Myself” is a knockout. “It Never Was You” is tender; “Lonely House” (with lyrics by Langston Hughes) is astonishing, as is the whole of this passionate disc. Grade: AStephin Merritt, Showtunes, Nonesuch. In addition to his work with the bands Magnetic Fields, the 6ths, Gothic Archies and others, Stephin Merritt has collaborated on theater pieces with Chen Shi-Zheng: The Orphan of Zhao, My Life as a Fairy Tale and Peach Blossom Fan. This CD is a 26-tune compilation of those three, sequenced to create a standalone album ... and it works. Showtunes is quirky, but undeniably theatrical. Musically, there are stylized takes on Chinese, Latin, music hall and Hawaiian music. The lyrics are wittier and more sophisticated than you might expect (though one is likely to offend sensitive ears). A twisting play of spare songs, Showtunes evokes, in a sense, the charm and wit of Gilbert and Sullivan and maybe a bit of Cole Porter, and the fearless ambition of Stephen Sondheim. These are often delightful songs that are sometimes a bit weird, puzzling, romantic and more. Merritt’s is a most imaginative vision, which should make his next project, based on Lemony Snicket’s books — The Tragic Treasury: Songs from A Series of Unfortunate Events — most interesting. It’s due in October. Grade: B+ E-mail: ewidner@arkansasonline.com
Stephin Merritt’s Showtunes is a compilation of three theater works.
