Review: Samantha Tobey: Samantha Tobey

My Samantha Tobey review can be found (click here) on treblezine.com



Samantha Tobey
Samantha Tobey
Heavy Folk Music
2007

Every once in a blue moon you discover a song, a song that soars, recurring lyrically and musically in your subconscious. "Eleven Shades of Red" is that song for me right now and L.A.'s very own Samantha Tobey is the artist to inspire the spark of a song that has been burning inside of me since I received a copy of her moving debut EP.

Now, I have been accused in the not so distant past of closing myself off to new music. A few years back, Bob Dylan gave an interview in Rolling Stone where he stated, "I don't know anybody who's made a record that sounds decent in the past twenty years, really…" and talking about the industry's complaint about downloading, "Well, why not? It ain't worth nothing anyway." At that time, I really agreed with him, compared to the music from past even looking back at the '90s, the majority of the bands sans Radiohead and a handful of others had been largely forgettable.

The past year I have been falling in love with music again and discovering some new talent that would even make Bob Dylan smile. The sounds that I have been finding have proven Dylan's quote to be horribly wrong. All you have to do is read your daily installment of Treble (shameless pat on the back), or visit one of my favorite sites, The Hype Machine, and you will see that new music is alive and beating stronger by the minute.

On a local level, there seems to be a modern resurgence in the Los Angeles music scene, and Samantha Tobey is on the cusp of being the breakout artist of 2008. And this is all thanks to a show that has been largely seen online, that being Quarterlife. My newest obsession, Quarterlife was created by Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick creators of three of my favorite shows Thirtysomething, My So-Called Life and Once and Again. Quarterlife follows the life of a group of twentysomething friends trying to find their space in this internet world of missed communications. The episode where I first heard Samantha's song was part two of the pilot. At the end of the episode, Lisa the bartender stands up and sings "Eleven Shades of Red" in front of her bar and friends. It's a huge scene for Lisa, this is the episode where she breaks out of her shell and shows her true self in the guise of Tobey's song.

The thing I love about "Eleven Shades of Red" is Tobey's universal message of trying to connect, which is why it's a perfect song for Quarterlife. She sings "I wrote this song for you/ I don't even know your name." From the beginning, Samantha brings us in as if she's singing directly to us. She personalizes the song by saying that she wrote the song for all of us. I love the lyrics, "I talk to myself/ stop stuttering/ you bring all this on yourself." This is me, the stuttering recluse, she someone connected to how it feels to be in my uncomfortable skin when I have trouble speaking and become a stuttering recluse.

Everyone knows that I am a sucker for harmonies and Tobey delivers beautifully throughout her self titled EP. Listen to the harmonies on the elegant acoustic number "Running," the perfect introduction to this artist, and produced magnificently at that. David Passerman, Timothy Hutton, Kevin Binova and Spanjew keep the focus on Tobey's majestic voice throughout by not overpowering it with too much studio trickery. They enhance her voice by layering just the right instrumentation throughout her dynamic EP.

There seems to be a yearning throughout the lyrics of Tobey's debut EP. You can hear the blissful power on songs like "12 O'clock." Tobey's song are neither too light nor too dark, she has the perfect blend of beautiful melancholy, especially on memorable closing track "Mumbling," which is impressive for such a new and up and coming artist. Keep your eye on episodes of Quarterlife on NBC and listen for Samantha Tobey. When the show finally breaks, everyone, everywhere will know her name. You read it here first.

Adrian Ernesto Cepeda
01.30.2008

Review: Sarabeth Tucek: Sarabeth Tucek

My Sarabeth Tucek review can be found (click here) on treblezine.com


Sarabeth Tucek
Sarabeth Tucek
Echo Records
2007

"Here's something for you to put down…"

These are the first lyrics you hear from the enigmatic L.A. singer/songwriter Sarabeth Tucek. What a song that opening track, a memorable one it is, and it is one that I had heard years before when she was a member of the Brian Jonestown Massacre. A few years back when she was working with ever-reclusive genius Anton Newcombe, Sarabeth collaborated with him on the track "Seer." I'll never forget the first time I heard "Seer," the lyrics "I've gone and left you a song" were shared with me by a former flame after she left. It's one hell of a song to give to a former love and to this day I'm grateful that she did. She knew how much I loved Brian Jonestown Massacre and adored the female voice.

When I put in Sarabeth's debut disc, and those first lyrics came on, I knew that song but in a different light. The song that I once knew as "Seer" has been stripped down, or de-Anton-ized if you will, and now called "Something For You." I prefer this version without the echo and effects. You can really hear Sarabeth's Nico-esque voice come through in this mix.

Nico is the perfect jumping off point when trying to pin point the sound of Sarabeth's voice. But Sarabeth goes much deeper than the former Velvet Underground vocalist; I like to think her vocals are a mixture of Nico and 10,000 Maniacs' Natalie Merchant. She's the perfect chanteuse that not many people have had the pleasure of hearing, though she has been fortunate enough to open for the likes of Bob Dylan, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Ray Lamontagne.

Speaking of Ray Lamontagne, his producer Ethan Johns, known for his work with Ryan Adams, along with Kings of Leon Luther Russell, helmed production duties on Sarabeth Tucek. Her debut CD is anything but your normal singer/songwriter acoustic album. Johns and Russell compliment Tucek's exceptional voice with just the right instrumentation. Just check out "Holy Smoke." Good choice to layer the backing track with feed-backing and rhythmic guitars. It sounds kind of like an amalgamation of Ryan Adams and The Velvet Underground with Sarabeth crooning "God said…I gave you a song…for you to keep for your own." Johns and Russell's riffs match the lyrical intensity of Tucek's fascinating prose.

"Hey You" is a sultry and smoky number that would sound perfect at a Jazz club. I love the Johns pedal steel guitar wails complementing Tucek's sexy vocal as she sings to a former flame. This seems to be the overall theme of Sarabeth Tucek; the songs sound like lyrical odes to an intense love that has since perished. The organ on "Come Back, Balloon" sounds like one you would hear at a procession at a church symbolizing the end of an affair. Then the banjo and harmonica comes out of nowhere and turns "Come Back, Balloon" into a beautiful alt-country lament over someone she left behind.

There's a lot of depth in Tucek's vocal that carry most of the songs into the realm of timelessness, and I do like the simplicity in some of the arrangements, like in the beautiful "Nightlight," especially the intimate piano keys playing in the background as a perfect accompaniment to Tucek's amazing lyrics. One of my favorite songs has to be "Hot Tears." It starts off with an acoustic guitar strumming along to Sarabeth's heart aching vocal and then turns into an electric number, when she sings "Then you'll lay me down/ don't let anyone come around," as those killer guitar riffs come in like a reigning flashback from a movie you want to revisit again.

Sarabeth Tucek's debut CD is more than a painful ode to heartbreak; I liken her songs to a soundtracked homage to love, a love that most of us yearn to experience. There's beauty, hope and pain layered through out this emotional and exceptional album. Sarabeth Tucek is a vocalist with a classic vibe and post-modern sound that needs to be experienced. When she sings "Guess you've always been the one…when there's no one left to call/ I'm blowing kisses as I fall," you long to be the one who's catching those imaginary kisses.

Adrian Ernesto Cepeda
01.29.2008

Review: Cat Power: Jukebox

My Cat Power review can be found (click here) on treblezine.com


Cat Power
Jukebox
Matador Records
2008

"Start spreading the news…" this is the year of Cat Power. Chan Marshall has been on crooning her solitary heart in the underground since the mid-`90s. But it wasn't until 2006's The Greatest when the music world finally began to take notice of this largely unheralded chanteuse. The Greatest may have been Chan Marshall's introduction into the mainstream but Jukebox is her breakthrough. Marshall's sultry southern belle vocals and the Dirty Delta Blues Band dynamic rhythms shine bright in this stellar tribute album.

This is Chan's album. Her voice is the link that grabs you. You can't help but fall in love with this beauty while you listen to Jukebox. It sounds like she's serenading you especially on the Latin flavored bonus track, the Roberta Flack cover of "Angelitos Negros." Hearing Chan sing in Español sent shivers through me. I played Jukebox in my CD player, walking home from the indie record store where I purchased said album, and heard Marshall's vocals floating beautifully in my ears. I believe that this is the key for any everlasting artist—how the album sounds away from the friendly confines of your room. As I walked I felt like Chan and her angelic voice was right there with me, the soundtrack to my world. That is the mark of true greatness, in which a singer can take songs, and universally make them speak and sing for her audience, regardless of sex, color or creed. Very few artists can attest to what Cat Power has successfully achieved with Jukebox.

I, myself, love me some covers. But it's difficult to record a memorable cover song. Cat Power has never had trouble in that area. The mark of a truly brilliant cover song is one in which the artist pays homage to the original singer while making it her own, and Chan Marshall has been doing this throughout her evolving career. But there's something extra on Jukebox that surpasses any of those covers we may have adored before, and that is the addition of the Dirty Delta Blues Band.

The Dirty Delta Blues Band features Dirty Three drummer Jim White, Delta 72 piano and organist Gregg Foreman, Lizard Music bassist Erik Paparazzi, and Blues Explosion guitarist Judah Bauer. Bauer is the other shining star of Jukebox. His bluesy guitar riffs on "Ramblin (Wo)man" lift the cover into unforgettable territory.

Highlights? Wow, too many to name. The just mentioned "Ramblin (Wo)man" is a good start, though. I love the way that Marshall takes Hank Williams' classic and gives it her own spin. By changing the sex, it turns this song into the lament of someone who's trapped in her drifting ways. Chan's vocal makes you emphasize for her fleeting emotions and continue falling for this woman who will undoubtedly break our aching Corazon. Chan also covers herself with an updated version of "Metal Heart" which soars with the Dirty Delta Blues Band backing her up. These rambling musicians are the best thing that may have ever happened to her. They even found a way to amp up her own recordings with a power that lifts this Cat Power gem with an added brilliance that highlights the genius of this underrated songwriter.

I adore the largely acoustic "Silver Stallion," which shows Marshall stripped and seductive as ever, with Bauer's wailing guitar enhancing her sexy vocal. Speaking of, Marshall outdoes James Brown with an amazing rendition of "Lost Someone." You can hear the beauty and ache in Chan's voice as she calls for the one that she has lost with Bauer's guitar once again sending her to heights that only few singers have dreamed to discovering. But the one song that makes Jukebox the definitive classic has to be Cat Power's version of Bob Dylan's "I Believe in You." I had preferred Sinead O'Connor's take until I pressed play and hear Marshall and the Dirty Delta Blues Band's awesome rendition, with Bauer holding court with his addictive guitar riffs and White's killer back beats holding it up for Chan to take us home. And does she ever. Marshall does Bobby proud; I can imagine him smile when he eventually hears the next song, which is a definitive tribute to the Bard himself. You will believe me when you hear Marshall's original ode to Dylan simply called "Song to Bobby." A stunning number where Chan sings praise to The Bard, one of the many singers, that has helped shape her voice from a far.

It's also worth picking up the bonus disc, with five extra soon-to-be-classics including Chan's take on Nick Cave's "Breathless" and my favorite, Patsy Cline's heartbreaking jewel turned into aching acoustic epic "She's Got You."

Jukebox shows Chan Marshall honoring the artists and songwriters who influenced her unique and soulful voice. And what a homage it is—listen for the piano based beauty that is a definitive praise to Billie Holiday. Not only does Chan Marshall cover these songs, she takes them and makes them over with new arrangements that acknowledge the greatness of the original songs. They, like Cat Power, will live on eternally. Jukebox is the proof that Chan Marshall is here to sway our hearts with a voice that will live on soaring eternally inside of us. Cat Power has such a timeless presence that you will crave hearing this chanteuse serenading softly in your ears again and again.

Adrian Ernesto Cepeda
01.23.2008

Top 50 Albums of 2007: #1 - Radiohead - In Rainbows

My Radiohead year end review can be found (click here) on treblezine.com


Radiohead
In Rainbows
TBD Rceords

The most Romantic Album of the Year award belongs to none other to my favorite band Radiohead. Wait, how did this happen? From the opening notes we all can feel the sparks that sent shivers down our eagerly-awaiting spines—pure unadulterated brilliance to my ears. I love Colin's sultry bassline on "Nude." This must have been what Thom was talking about when he said Radiohead wanted to make music to have sex to. Yes, "Nude" is quite beautiful and sexy, especially Jonny's equally seductive guitar riffs that even Al Green and Marvin Gaye would love to sing over. And let's not forget Phil's tender touches on the drums. The kind of gentle beats that would make Massive Attack want to sample on their next album. The lushly arranged "All I Need" is a perfect lyrical equivalent to the sound of "Nude." Thom has never written about love and intimacy as he does In Rainbows. Like a Romeo in black jeans, Yorke sings for all of us the romantics singing about the infinite complexities of relationships coming to life as Radiohead brings "All I Need" to its exciting climax. You can feel the emotions coming loud and clearer than ever before especially in songs like "House of Cards," as Yorke sings, "I just wanna be your lover/ No matter how it ends/ No matter how it starts."

In Rainbows is also the first Radiohead album in ages where we can actually hear the soulful vocals of Thom Yorke throughout. Who would have thought after releasing the electronics heavy solo album The Eraser, Thom would release his most heartfelt sounding songs in quite some time. It's the little things on In Rainbows that stand out to me, like the way that Thom enunciates every syllable in songs like "15 Step," such as the way that he says "etcetera." Another fun fact: the beats on "Videotape" mirror the sped up ones in the opening track "15 Step?" If you put the album on repeat it runs like a full-circle dream, which you can relive again, like watching your favorite film go on and on forever. Could this be the reason why the album begins with the lyrics, "How come I end up where I started?" Think about it and play it on a loop and see if you hear what I hear.

So when did Radiohead become such lyrical and rhythmic romantics? Hard to say, but for a band that's been called "cold" and "indulgent," they sound more human than ever, connecting with the love and adoration that we all want to feel.

Adrian Ernesto Cepeda
12.17.2007

Top 50 Albums of 2007: # 41- Editors - An End has a Start

My Editors year end review can be found (click here) on treblezine.com


Editors
An End Has A Start
Kitchenware – Fader

With minimal airplay and the strength of their amazing debut album The Back Room, Editors became the Indie Darlings of 2005. They then returned this year with An End has A Start, which rivals The Bends as follow-up albums go, and puts them on the verge of being the next greatest band of the decade. So what exactly am I, and a legions of Editors fans, hearing that most of the music world is missing? An honest and beautiful darkness best displayed in the song "The Weight of the World." Beginning with triumphant drum beats, an echoing guitar riff signals the shadowy vocal by Tom Smith, "Every little of piece of your life will add up to one…will mean something to someone." More than mope rock, Editors have transcended the Joy Division and Interpol comparisons. Editors don't make music for the sake of sadness. I hear the optimism in singer Tom Smith's voice and the anticipation of enormous potential in band members Chris Urbanocwiz, Russell Leetch and Ed Lay's rhythmic brilliance, reaching for greatness with every beat and riff in their musical arsenal. I told an old friend that 2006 would be the year of Editors. I guess I just missed it by 365 days.

Adrian Ernesto Cepeda
12.17.2007