ShareThis"SEA SEW," Lisa Hannigan (ATO Records)
Lisa Hannigan spent seven years as a backing singer for Damien Rice, so it's no wonder she's a bit halting as lead vocalist on her solo debut, "Sea Sew."
The Irish singer often upstaged Rice during her tenure in support of him, her soft etherealism pulling focus from his penetrating intensity. Yet on its own, her delivery is in danger of slipping into obscurity behind the chamber-pop-ish instrumentation of piano, violin, cello, bass, drums and glockenspiel.
That works to an extent, her heavy accent, wavering enunciation and mysterious, childlike cadence make her words indecipherable at times, underscoring the general ambivalence of the lyrics. However, the songs also tend to take on more shades of melancholy than they should, as when Hannigan retreats behind the strings of "Ocean and a Rock," her beckoning lines too remote (though it's fitting she should sing, "Let's get lost, me and you").
Nevertheless, those who like complicated, quirky women singers are likely to devour "Sea Sew." Her supporting group-- including two of her ex-band mates with Rice, cellist Vyvienne Long and drummer Tom Osander-- give her a sophisticated and flexible foundation to either sink into or build on. And Hannigan often does break out of her reticence, working into commanding upheavals on such tracks as "Venn Diagram" and "Teeth."
"Sea Sew" maintains an offbeat gentility throughout, but when the singer gets her gears grinding with the sweet and direct infatuation song "I Don't Know," it's especially easy to appreciate her as a full-blown entity.
If Hannigan is going to put herself in the spotlight, she might as well show herself.
Rating (five possible): 3-1/2
"KERI NOBLE," Keri Noble (Telarc)
Keri Noble's new self-titled release ends with a surprising high.
Closing track "Life #9," which was recorded live at a Minneapolis show (purportedly one day after Noble wrote the song) is vibrant and soulful, edgy and earthy. Unfortunately, that finale is a striking contrast to the rest of the rather sterile package that is "Keri Noble."
Noble doesn't do much to establish herself as something more than a stereotypical female singer/songwriter/pianist. She's on the moody side and seems to get off on feeling bad, and there's nothing to set her apart sonically from her peers.
However, she's got the basics down, a nice rasp in her voice and a way with lyrics and melody. She sometimes even sounds like an ideal cross between Sarah McLachlan and Sheryl Crow -- and it could hardly get any better than that for someone in her genre.
But there's an over-familiarity from the get-go, when Noble opens with the inappropriate line, "I think I'm gonna do this my way" and then succumbs to the anonymous trappings of first-track "Watch Me Walk."
There are much stronger moments -- ranging from the tropical vibe of the flowing cut on a crush, "Word Got Out," to her stark song about ditching out, "Last Warning." Yet like the woozy song "Red Wine 'Til Daylight" (about drinking oneself into oblivion), the better tracks are merely subtly infectious, and Noble doesn't have the luxury of time to win over an audience, what with the release's overall vagueness that surfaces in the sad songs about loneliness and promiscuity and in the optimistic cuts about love and contentment,
It isn't until that sizzling last track that "Keri Noble" clearly delineates the singer as a real woman with a real soul.
Too bad she didn't reveal more of it earlier.
Rating: 2-1/2
"MR. MACY WAKES ALONE," PT Walkley (Frisbie)
PT Walkley's experience as a film composer (including three recent projects by Ed Burns) likely played a role in his new "Mr. Macy Wakes Alone," which is a cohesive story rather than a collection of unrelated songs. And given that the three main characters of his tale are a song writer, the object of his affection and a record executive, his personal life probably factors into the plot.
Walkley is an ambitious New Yorker whose resume also includes composing music for ad campaigns and membership in the band the Blue Jackets. Built on an indie-pop foundation with such flourishes as strings, trumpet, pedal steel and musical saw, "Mr. Macy Wakes Alone" reflects a diverse background and reveals varied influences ranging from Stephin Merritt to Pink Floyd, the latter of which is directly referenced on the obsessive-love track "No One Needs To Know."
The twisted plot is unveiled with moody shifts in perspective as the arrangements frequently divert off course to include the carnival-esque introduction of the spoiled little would-be rich girl "Audrey Macy" as well as the dreamscape "Coming Over," the bucolic "Ides of March" and the hoedown "Punch Drunk."
"Mr. Macy Wakes Alone" is wry and forlorn and certainly a more intriguing listen than the typical dreck of the traditional singer-songwriter. Walkley's work is both timeless and nostalgic and framed in an otherworldly context.
The vocals may not be remarkable and the hooks may be rare, plus Walkley dwells on the songwriter's obsession at the expense of more complete storytelling. Yet even though those are elements of a vanity project, his ingenuity merits an audience to indulge in his self-indulgence.
Rating: 3-1/2
(E-mail Chuck Campbell of The Knoxville News-Sentinel in Tennessee at Campbell(at)knews.com.)
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