LORRAINE FEATHER – Ages (2010) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Lorraine Feather, unlike any jazz singer on the scene, is pushing her formidable abilities to their maximum, dining and dancing on a bed of life stories that modern men and women can relate to. Essentially sophisticated metropolitan tales, Feather expands her novel-length treatises far beyond mere chapter and verse of love and loss, into an arena so compelling and emotionally involved, one feels as if they were songs with every listener in mind. She's also blessed with a keen ear for extraordinary accompanists who also co-write the music aside her lyric content, including pianists Russell Ferrante or Shelly Berg, guitarist Eddie Arkin, bassist Michael Valerio, and several fine guest soloists. The thing about these songs that truly sets them apart is they are based on pure inspiration, far removed from being based on any preconception of any jazz standards -- a true (if you'll please excuse the pun) feather in her cap. She's also using an exceptional range from high sailing to deepest low, but not obsidian levels, leaping octaves only when the mood fits, but not for simple pyrotechnical effect. As playful and lithe as she is clever, her voice suits the mood and intent of the humorous song "A Lot to Remember" as she references things happening in threes and going from "zero to sixty" in her long listings. The hip funk of "Old at 18/Dog Bowl" also runs down a veritable database of reasons why, in a mosaic that displays her more legato voicings. There are three duets, including a waltz alongside Ferrante -- "The Girl with the Lazy Eye," the story where the young person's grades are mediocre, raising more questions than answers -- while with pianist Dick Hyman, "Scrabble" is a scrambling parlor scat, jumpy and quick, whipping through words. "Peculiar Universe" is atypically melancholy for the upbeat Feather, as she operates in a Kurt Weill/Bertold Brecht world with Béla Fleck on banjo, as is Felix Mendelssohn's "Perugia," arranged by Ferrante, another waltz dripping with regret over lost love and soul. But Feather ups the emotional quotient even higher during "How Did We End Up Here?," as she, Ferrante, and vibraphonist Bob Leatherbarrow work a samba to a tick-tock beat with drummer and percussionist Michael Shapiro. Starting off light, but delving into a heavy emotional introspection as a married couple enjoy a tropical get-away, Feather creates something so powerfully intimate, pondering life, fate, and circumstance -- it's her crowning achievement on this disc, and maybe of her entire career. To say Lorraine Feather has created a triptych of experiences from adolescence to adulthood on this overview of the human condition through various ages is simplistic. What she has done is dig deep into the psyche of all of us through herself, creating a stunning recording that once again trumps the other excellent albums she has made. Asking "how did we end up here?," the listener has to pose this question in retort -- "is the sky the limit?," and "how high is that sky?". Michael G. Nastos       Tracklist + Credits :

LORRAINE FEATHER – Tales of the Unusual (2012) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Lorraine Feather is easily one of the most creative lyricists of her generation and since earning a Grammy nomination for her 2010 CD Ages, the vocalist has gained greater attention from writers who had previously overlooked her contributions. Every one of her CDs is a treat, full of surprising, often humorous song topics and devoid of predictable Moon/June assembly line lyrics, while Feather's skills as an actress and her infectious, versatile voice add to her appeal. Tales of the Unusual is no exception, with stories that at times test one's imagination and occasionally flirt with a creepy air. Most of the musicians appearing on Tales of the Unusual have worked with Feather on her earlier recordings, with Russell Ferrante and Shelly Berg alternating on piano. "Indiana Lana" is her vocal setting of Duke Ellington's "Jubilee Stomp," first recorded for her CD Dooji Wooji. This new version is a duet, with Feather's lively vocal romp about the speedy female runner accompanied by Berg, who shows off his masterful stride chops. The mysterious "Out There" keeps revealing hidden facets as Feather's lyric unfolds, as does Berg's captivating tune. Her haunting "I Took Your Hand" (which adds a lyric to Italian jazz pianist Enrico Pieranunzi's "Fellini's Waltz") is a magical ballad with a shimmering backdrop featuring violinist Charles Bisharat's elegant playing. Ferrante begins "The Hole in the Map" with an eerie flavor, though it quickly takes a comic turn as Feather shares her tale of exploring the Amazon. "Get a Room" is a hilarious swinger that would be a choice song for a romantic comedy. Her tale describes two lovers so taken with one another that everyone they encounter makes the obvious suggestion, while the solos by Berg, guitarist Mike Miller, and Bisharat add to its playfulness. Only Feather can pen a song about a street person writing a love letter on the sidewalk in chalk, as she does in "Sweet Miriam," while Eddie Arkin's music is the perfect blend of jaunty nostalgia from the 1920s with Michael Valerio's delicious arco bass underneath her mesmerizing vocal. Tales of the Unusual demonstrates that Lorraine Feather is not content to settle into a comfort zone; instead, she continues to grow as a lyricist and singer as she tackles new musical challenges with her collaborators. Ken Dryden    Tracklist + Credits :

ST. VINCENT – Marry Me (2007) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

With experience playing with the Polyphonic Spree, Sufjan Stevens, and Glenn Branca, Annie Clark is more than qualified enough to start writing her own loosely ornate, lush pop songs. But while Clark, who chooses to use the name St. Vincent here, does incorporate the frilly strings and horns, background choirs, and various keyboards (most of which she plays) of her past employers in Marry Me, her solo debut, she also has an edge to her -- something that shows up in the distorted electric guitar solos of "Jesus Saves, I Spend" or "Now, Now," the drums in the ominous "The Apocalypse Song" or "Your Lips Are Red," the growing intensity of the vocals "Landmines," the funereal waltz of the fantastic "Paris Is Burning" ("I write to give the war is over/Send my cinders home to mother," Clark sings sadly over electronic drumbeats and acoustic guitars) -- that pushes her away from the overly sentimental and quaint. Not that Marry Me doesn't have its fair share of happy love songs ("All My Stars Aligned," "What Me Worry?"), but the album isn't seeped in that kind of joyfulness that sings blind and insincere. It's an mix of good and bad, of light and dark, of the woman who purposefully sets up the obstacles she must get through to find her lover ("I'm crawling through landmines/I know 'cause I planted them," she sings disarmingly), of sweet self-deprecation ("Marry me, John, I'll be so good to you/You won't realize I'm gone"), honest and quirky and totally enticing. Clark is young enough that she's still able to retain that sense of wonder about the world without seeming naïve, and old enough that she can say things like "My hands are red from sealing your red lips" and you believe her. It's an orchestral record for those who prefer the simplistic, a darker one for those who prefer theirs twee, love songs for the scorned and sad songs for the content, an engaging and alluring combination that makes Marry Me nearly irresistible, and one of the better indie pop albums that's come around for a long time. Marisa Brown  Tracklist + Credits :
 

ST. VINCENT – Actor (2009) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

St. Vincent's Annie Clark is a unique talent; she's as much a musician as she is a songwriter, and both her sounds and her words are delicately uncompromising. She blends rock, jazz, electronic, and classical touches together so seamlessly that it doesn't seem remarkable, and as lovely as her voice and music can be, she's too strange and too smart to be merely winsome. Marry Me was as bold as its title proposal suggested, uniting her sardonic, whip-smart viewpoint and jaunty music into songs with beacon-like clarity. Things are murkier, but no less fascinating, on Actor, Marry Me's darker and more ambitious follow-up. Musically and lyrically, the album often feels like a duel (and occasionally, a duet) between Clark's collected, literate side and her raging emotions. This is especially striking on Actor's arrangements and instrumentation, which are even more expressive than they were on Marry Me. "The Strangers" opens the album with choral vocals, woodwinds, and typically charming/unsettling lyrics: "Desperate doesn't look good on you/Neither does your virtue." But before things get too dainty, massively distorted guitar and drums let out the fury that's been brewing in the song the entire time (later, "The Bed" offers an even sharper contrast between innocence and violence). "Marrow" is just as startling, switching from pretty to abrasive and back again with a swiftness that's surprising, even knowing how fond Clark is of turning her songs on their sides. She also loves couching uncomfortable moments in sweet sounds and vice versa, so it's no surprise that Actor's poppiest songs are its most disturbing. On the album's single, the forceful rocker "Actor Out of Work," she pulls in and levels a lover in just over two minutes, beginning with alluring "oohs" and then twisting the knife with putdowns like "You're the curses through my teeth" -- the song's brisk dance between hot and cold is dazzling. Likewise, "Laughing with a Mouth of Blood" pairs the album's most gruesome song title with one of its most honeyed melodies. As brilliantly as Clark uses these contrasts, at times they threaten to overpower Actor's songs, and the slightly more straightforward, Marry Me-like tracks such as "Save Me from What I Want" and "The Party" help balance the album with some breathing space. Similarly, while the album's elaborately layered sounds are engrossing, they tend to overshadow Clark's equally thoughtful lyrics at first -- although when she sings "Tomorrow's some kind of stranger who I'm not supposed to see" on "The Neighbors," it's with more palpable emotion than anything she sang on Marry Me. "The Sequel" ends Actor on a fittingly uneasy, open-ended note, given all the complexities that came before it. This is some of St. Vincent's most complicated music, but its fearless creativity rewards repeated listening, as Clark has few rivals when it comes to seducing ears and challenging minds at the same time. Heather Phares     Tracklist + Credits :