Posts Tagged: elephants… teeth sinking into heart

2007 / 4 stars / eisley / reviews — No Comments
14
Sep 09

Combinations (2007) by Eisley

eisley combinations

Eisley
Combinations
2007, Warner Reprise Records
indie rock/pop
4½

This may be Eisley’s second album, but it’s the first I’ve heard of theirs. I have to admit that I’m pleasantly surprised. This is a pretty strange analogy to make, but if you could bottle up folk rock, soft pop, and a dash of vaudeville, you’d have Combinations.

Eisley has a haunting quality to their music, vocals, and lyrics that permeate everything from their rock songs like “Invasion” to their sweeter numbers like “Like The Actors.” As the band is essentially a family affair (everyone’s related in some way), the tight delivery and rich vocals should come as no surprise, but I have to admit I envy that cohesiveness. Lyrically, this album is darker than the lighter background would imply, but the contrast is what makes this album that much more appealing.

“Invasion,” “A Sight To Behold,” “I Could Be There For You.”
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As Tall As Lions’s self-titled album, Rachael Yamagata’s Elephants…Teeth Sinking into Heart

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1996 / 4 stars / june is for women / reviews / sarah mclachlan — No Comments
24
Jun 09

Surfacing (1996) by Sarah McLachlan

sarah mclachlan surfacing

Sarah McLachlan
Surfacing
1996, Nettwerk/Arista
piano pop
4½

Surfacing was Sarah McLachlan’s fourth album, but it still stands as her most popular album to date. This was the one that earned her her Grammy’s, but in comparison to her previous albums, Surfacing falls short. Both “Sweet Surrender” and “Building A Mystery” lacked that essential honesty that once endeared McLachlan’s previous blatantly pop songs to her listeners. The one single from this album that defied this change was “Angel,” which is probably the most profound song McLachlan has ever written and will ever write. The beauty of that previous statement is that the song required only a piano and its lyrics to be that memorable. One would think that McLachlan would learn from that lesson and apply it to the other songs in Surfacing or even in her newer work since then, but she has stubbornly remained in her over-produced-pop rut. At least we have “Angel” to make this album easier to swallow.

“Do What You Have To Do,” “Adia,” “Angel.”
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Catherine Feeny’s Hurricane Glass, Rachael Yamagata’s Elephants… Teeth Sinking Into Heart

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2008 / 4 stars / june is for women / rachael yamagata / reviews — No Comments
21
Jun 09

Elephants…Teeth Sinking Into Heart (2008) by Rachael Yamagata

rachael yamagata elephants teeth sinking into heart

Rachael Yamagata
Elephants… Teeth Sinking Into Heart
2008, Warner Bros.
pop, acoustic, blues rock
4½

In an interesting turn of events, Rachael Yamagata’s sophomore album is split into two distinctive style and records. The first, Elephants, is similar to her debut Happenstance in that it is filled with dark, moody ballads, while the second, Teeth Sinking Into Heart, has a harder rock sound and a faster tempo. Yamagata’s gritty contralto of course shines poignantly in Elephants, but the true surprise is that her voice is actually better suited to the harder Teeth. Yamagata could have easily pacified her fans and created new listeners had she simply released Elephants, but Teeth… was a brilliant move on her part. Each song on the second record is just as carefully written, constructed, and sung as the songs in the first, but the second record reveals a nearly unbridled Yamagata; she almost sounds like Pink in “Faster.” Teeth is so good, I wish it were longer – but I’ll have to content myself with waiting for her third album.

“Accident,” “Duet,” “Faster.”
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Stephanie Dosen’s A Lily For the Spectre, Catherine Feeny’s Hurricane Glass

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