apple review #1 (miranda)

04Dec08

Under the Apple
Heather Marie Philipp

Yours is a very eclectic sample. Many styles combine in these haunting tunes, but invariably, they create an inviting canvas for your sensuous vocals. I hear hints of jazzy Cassandra Wilson, feeling-saturated Radiohead, breath-carressing Joss Stone, and delicately-poignant David Sylvian.

I would dare classify this album in the soft-jazz milieu. “To Remember You” and the Miles Davis tinged “clear blue sky” certainly veer in that direction. However, it were the songs that deviate from the readily-classifiable format that moved me the most. My favorite is “Love Blind.” I find it truly amazing: gorgeous melody, and lyrics. the band backs you up perfectly, so very tastefully. A nice, driving beat, thick, syrupy timbres that wonderfully compliment your vocal quality. It reminds me a bit of Fiona Apple and Lizz Wright.

“Courting Stars” accentuates the sensual in your voice, as you trade licks with the stand-up bass. The odd-time passages in the middle are a welcome surprise, bringing a lop-sided roll to the end of the chorus. sweet.

The instruments in “Snow Fell” lay down a melancholy background that allows the space for your voice to soar. Driven by a mysterious and moving string ensemble and a graceful electric piano counterpoint, this track sinks into a mystifying white, wintry landscape, where the only sounds are the softly falling snowflakes. “Under the Apple” seems to have a similar quality, a sparse universe of subtle tones that fall like rain as we walk with you on autumn leaf-strewn streets.

These songs bring out your best. They possess elegant tensions, originality and a seeming frailty that falls away to reveal power in the subtle.

~ J. Miranda
Read more from artist and music writer J. Miranda at Poetrical Musings
Purchase Under the Apple at CDbaby.

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Tags: album, cassandra wilson, CD, CD baby, david sylvian, fiona apple, heather marie philipp, j. miranda, jazz, joss stone, jota miranda, jotamatrix, lizz wright, miles davis, music, poterical musiings, radiohead, review, singer, soul, under the apple