/p p The same is true with i a cappella /i covers of songs that originally used modern instrumentation. Even when the choir of voices behind the lead singer is replicating the instruments and percussion of the original, the lead voice remains bare. Sometimes it takes that bare intimacy for me to realize just how good a song is.
/p p I first had an inkling of this when I heard folk singer/songwriter a href= http://www.rosepolenzani.com/ Rose Polenzani /a do a cover of Whitesnake s Here I Go Again some years ago at a live show.
I never liked the song as much as I did after I heard her version of it. The same thing happened when I heard the University of Pennsylvania a href= http://www.thepennyloafers.
com/ Penny Loafers /a i a cappella /i cover of The Postal Service s a href= http://www.badmintonstamps.com/downloads/loafers/suchgreatheights.
mp3 Such Great Heights /a last year. Their cover made me give the song and the band a second listen, and now I m hooked on The Postal Service. /p p a href= http://www.
flickr.com/photos/acblogcritics/410699374/ title= Photo Sharing img style= margin: 10px; float: left src= http://farm1.static.
flickr.com/168/410699374_92d432c091_o.jpg border= 0 alt= Quicksand album cover title= Quicksand album cover hspace= 5 vspace= 0 width= 200 height= 200 align= left / /a Given all that, it was with eager anticipation that I hit the play button for the first track of the Penny Loafers new album, i Quicksand /i .
Once again, I was both surprised and pleased by how much I enjoy their versions of modern pop radio songs I never would listen to in their original incarnations. /p p a href= http://www.thepennyloafers.
com/sound/swallowedinthesea.mp3 Swallowed in the Sea /a (Coldplay) is a prime example of this. I cannot stand to listen to Coldplay.
Maybe they are more interesting now, but their first hit single in the US was so dreary that I was immediately turned off and have not bothered to listen to them since then. However, Sam Cohn s i a cappella /i arrangement and performance as lead vocal has made me think I should try them again. The song has a hint of folk to it, as if it had a history in an old English seaport.
/p p Except for Sia s a href= http://www.thepennyloafers.com/sound/breatheme.
mp3 Breathe Me /a and Amiee Mann s a href= http://www.thepennyloafers.com/sound/humptydumpty.
mp3 Humpty Dumpty /a , all of the songs on i Quicksand /i are new to me. Those two are arranged close to the originals, as far as I can tell, and I can only expect the same is true of the rest of the album. The group has over a dozen arrangers represented on this album, and despite that they have kept the quality consistent.
There is not a track on the album that stood out either positively or negatively. /p p i A cappella /i purists might quibble over the obvious studio tweaking on the recording. There are a few places that stand out as examples of what the human voice cannot do without some digital augmentation.
Even so, the quality of the recording is still impressive. The Penny Loafers have followed up i a href= /archives/2006/08/24/090303.php Side A /a /i with another fine collection of i a cappella /i tunes.
/p
Inevitably, there will be the comparisons to Melissa Etheridge and Janis Joplin, but Ivey can hold her own with a unique voice. She and her band have put together an EP of tight rock tunes called i Lovers and Stars /i , which was released last fall, and should be getting more attention than it has already. br / br / One of the benefits of a five song EP is that the artist can show off their range without having to include any weaker material in order to fill out an LP.
Ivey pulled out all the stops for the tracks on i Lovers and Stars /i , leaving the listener wanting more after the all-too-short 22 minutes have passed. br / br / a href= http://flickr.com/photos/acblogcritics/395858082/ img src= http://farm1.
static.flickr.com/173/395858082_5025e2757e_o.
jpg border= 0 alt= cover of Lovers and Stars title= cover of Lovers and Stars hspace= 5 vspace= 0 width= 200 height= 200 align= right / /a The title track begins the EP with an energetic acoustic rhythm guitar riff that is soon joined by the rest of the band and Ivey s vocals. It s a toe-tapper of a love song that is reminiscent of late-90s pop-rock bands like Sixpence or the Rembrandts. br / br / Ivey follows it up with the darker sounding Eyes on the Door with its lyrical and musical theme of unrequited longing for someone who is not there.
Something about the chord progression reminds me of Amy Ray s Tether. I think it s that steady driving rhythm that carries an underlying intensity. br / br / Everywhere and Nowhere is a head-bopping syncopated introspective pop-rock tune that provides a nice mid-EP lift.
br / br / Far Far Away kicks off with the energetic punk-influence grind of electric guitars that supports the lyrical theme of separation and longing to be back home with a loved one. This leads into the quietly introspective final track, No Ties To Break, that begins with the line she s been a lot of places / seen so many faces / walked across the borders of time, and continues on with the theme of the traveler and his/her relationships with others. It s an old story, but like a good storyteller, Ivey is able to present it in a fresh way.
br / br / i Lovers and Stars /i reminds me of my eighth grade English teacher s description of an essay: It s like a miniskirt -- long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to be interesting. br / br / i Lovers and Stars /i is available at a href= http://cdbaby.com/cd/melissaivey2 CDBaby.
com /a . /p div id= authorbio img Mon, 19 Feb 2007 22:29:20 EST
com/ The Apples In Stereo /a tune Sundial Song that goes, you circle me and try to pin me down. The metaphor aptly describes the experience of trying to pin a genre label on the band s recent release, i New Magnetic Wonder /i . This album is quintessentially The Apples In Stereo -- a band that straddles the line between electronica and sunny pop-rock, and only occasionally do they lean in fully on one or the other.
/p p The Apples In Stereo came together as a band fourteen years ago in Denver, Colorado. Guitarist/vocalist Robert Schneider has been the main creative force in the band, which consists of guitarist John Hill, bassist Eric Allen, and until recently, vocalist and percussionist Hilarie Sidney. i New Magnetic Wonder /i is their eighth full-length album, in addition to many singles and EPs.
It is also their most ambitious recording to date. /p p The album clocks in at a little over 52 minutes with twenty-four tracks. Many of these tracks are electronic instrumentals created by Schneider using multi-layered tracks and mathematics.
That s right, mathematics. a href= http://flickr.com/photos/acblogcritics/389863838/ img src= http://farm1.
static.flickr.com/175/389863838_6ca25e42ce_m.
jpg border= 0 alt= photo by Josh Kessler | hosted by Flickr.com title= photo by Josh Kessler | hosted by Flickr.com hspace= 5 vspace= 0 width= 240 height= 159 align= right / /a Schneider used mathematical equations and logarithms to replace the standard twelve tones in a musical octave with completely different frequencies.
You can hear a bit of that in the opening of the first track, a href= http://cpanel.redeyeusa.com/pdl.
php?id=2181315951 v=8a4799fde54bbdc8fcb80ba74 Can You Feel It? /a , as well as in the instrumentals Non-Pythagorean Composition 1 and Non-Pythagorean Composition 3.
/p p Musical art aside, i New Magnetic Wonder /i is a fantastic pop-rock record. Can You Feel It? repeats the title of the song in the chorus and adds the line, It makes you feel so good.
It certainly makes me feel good when I listen to it, and the fun doesn t stop there. Every track on the album grabs my attention, including the quirky instrumentals. I find myself humming little bits and pieces of it at the most random times, and it s a rare album that will have that much of an effect on me.
/p p For some people, pop-rock has become trite and canned, and it is often used as a derogatory label by indie hipsters. The Apples In Stereo are a shining star leading the masses to the truth and goodness that is intelligent pop-rock. They have not sacrificed creativity and art to produce an album that is very commercially viable, and it gives me hope for the future of pop-rock.
/p p Be sure to catch The Apples In Stereo later tonight on Conan O Brien. If you miss it, don t despair. The band will be on tour all around the US over the next couple of months.
Also, here s the video for Energy, the first video from the album and actor Elijah Wood s directorial debut: br/ width= 100 height= 75 style= float:left; margin:5px; border:1px solid white / Anna Creech is a librarian and blogger who dreams of a day when she can improve the ratio of read-to-unread books in her house. Along with writing reviews, she maintains the a href= http://bcgoodiebag.com/ Blogcritics Goodie Bag /a , a collection of daily digital treats for eyes and ears.
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