The Cold Cut

Kirsten Price- Magic Tree (Link 2) (Link 3)

I'll be honest- I'm not a singer-songwriter guy by any stretch of the imagination. You could stretch Sufjan Stevens into that category, but his music is extremely inventive and massively expansive. Lightspeed Champion is too honest, relevant and depressed to be cornered. Scouring my library, Paolo Nutini is about as much as I can stand in short stints. So basically it's not really my thing.

I am, however, open to those who want to change my opinion. And Kirsten Price really has. So, I recieved an email (all of which I love to read and listen to), visit the Myspace, as per usual.

The first thing that surprised me was how familiar her sound was. Not in a 'I am totally unoriginal' way, in a 'I've just blended all the things you love into one package' way. Which is a perfect start. So, who does she sound like? Well, to me at least, a potent vocal mix of KT Tunstall, Kelly Clarkson and Joss Stone, with added songwriting skills. On 'Magic Tree', she executes a 'Mrs Independant' vocal performance. It's an equally brilliant pop tune, and the inventiveness of this radio-friendly song has been transported across all the songs I have heard.

In many ways, Kirsten has already won the war- she's shared the stage with a host of A-list artists including Wyclef Jean, Sly and the Family Stone and the grammy-nominated Groove Collective, has some strong press under her belt and a huge host of fans. All that remains is a little airtime. I suggest you fight her corner, starting now or soon... This girl is going places, with or without us.

'Guts And Garbage', her debut album, was released on July 1st, as a re-release on Kirsten's own label. Run over to Kirsten's Myspace for the summer touring schedule and more information on the album.

People generally like to set themselves challenges. Some are reasonable, whilst some might be stretching reality. A great example of the second is Sufjan Steven's attempt to write a concept album for "the 50 states of America". Yes, 50 full albums. Ambitious? Hmm... Foolhardy might be a better way of describing it.

However, as ridiculous as this is, the results have yet to be less than brilliant: Stevens is a sensation, and his latest state album- 'Come On Feel The Illinoise!'- received rave reviews across the board, whilst picking up a myriad of awards. Each of these albums (Illinois and Michigan) is a masterclass in songwriting: Stevens immerses himself in the cultural and historical differences of each state, and writes context heavy songs which really do paint a picture. Take 'Illinoise!', for example: songs include "John Wayne Gacy, Jr.", "Chicago" and "Jacksonville", the first of which is about the notorious Chicago-based serial killer who murdered 33 boys and was later executed. Put bluntly, this isn't easygoing stuff, but if you make the effort to listen, you will be rewarded.

The man himself is a bit of a mystery, although his music illustrates that he is a talented multi-instrumentalist. Just check out the sleeve notes on his albums: you will see that by all accounts Stevens plays at least 20 instruments on his records (through multi-track recording). One of his most powerful tools as a musician however, is his fey-voice and lyrical prowess. Artists nowadays have a tendency to write increasingly vague lyrics in attempt to appeal to as many individuals as possible. Not Sufjan. You don't get much more forward than the following when referring to a murderer:

I foresee a long and illustrious career for Sufjan, who will have to write these albums into his elderly years in order to complete his epic task. As impossible as the challenge seems, I wouldn't put it past him. If he becomes more focussed (aka stops writing 5 disc Christmas Medleys!), and concentrates on the 48 albums remaining, those of us still alive when he finishes could possess one of the most diverse collections of music ever committed to disc.

Sufjan Stevens- Chicago
Sufjan Stevens- John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
Sufjan Stevens- Seven Swans

Update: The links have been re-posted- they should be up for another 2 weeks or so...

"The next Lily Allen"- those are the words that have been following newcomer Kate Nash around since her single Foundations smashed its way onto the charts, swallowing up the rule book and all the while proving that you don't have to have Umbrella beats to make it big. Well, why don't you take a longer look before forcing her to live in Lily's shadow? Where are the parallels in the music? Sure, she's also from London and is equally witty... but if you actually listen to her songs and compare them to Lily's you can see the similarities end there. Foundations oozes charm and wit, but not of the caustic kind (see Allen's 'Smile') and is clearly orchestrated by Nash herself: she's got the whole singer-songwriter thing going on and is competent at both piano and guitar, which are the main components of her songs, something which is mostly missing in Lily Allen's debut Alright, Still. Her real talent, though, lies in making songs accessible to ordinary people; Foundations tells the story of a couple who both hate the little things about each other:

1. Boy hates girls stories- embarresses her in front of her friends
   
2. Girl belittles boy's intelligence
3. Boy calls girl 'bitch', but girl doesn't care
4. Boy says girl's diet must be composed of lemons, because she is so bitter
5. Girl says she prefers to hang out with his male friends because they are much fitter
6. Boy gets wasted, throws up on girl's new trainers.
   
7. Etc...
   

Indeed, taking a look at that I think the major comparison at this point would be to Regina Spektor, someone who on her songs so far Nash has magically managed to clip in the summery-poppy stakes and simplicity.

It's really weird to see someone given such a reference point so early on in their career, and its obviously something that Nash struggles with (it would piss me off to no end in interviews). She's brought the release of her first album forward by a couple of months to the 6th August, probably to distance herself from this requisite line (THE NEXT LILY ALLEN) which you will find in every one of her interviews since 'Foundations' came out. The song itself is an argument between (presumably) Kate and her ex?/boyfriend which has been dressed up into a great summer pop-song- only a sign of things to come. She's no one-trick pony, however: take a look at her first single Caroline's A Victim, a track that lies at the other end of the spectrum to the conversational pop that is Foundations. An intriguing mess of synths and Nash's spoken word, it was a gutsy move to release this as your debut single, and Kate has received huge amounts of flak for it. This was all forgotten once Foundations was released, but I have a weird feeling that her self-titled album will be split down the middle; one half full of Foundation-like pop songs and the other dancehall songs similar to Caroline Is A Victim.

Her debut is currently one of my most anticipated for 2007, not least for being produced by Paul Epworth- whose credits include Bloc Party, The Rakes and Maximo Park to name a few. The slightly weird thing about all her songs is that they sound like demos, something which you wouldn't expect when she's being produced by Epworth: however, this doesn't really detract from her sound. Whatever their plan is, the release of Caroline's A Victim was an interesting move to make, but I haven't heard to enough to judge how her album will pan out. To me, her best songs are the most basic ones like Foundations and The Nicest Thing where her sound is stripped down to the her voice and a piano/guitar backing. But take a look for yourself at the songs below, and I'm sure you will agree with me: Forget the constant Lily Allen comparisons: Kate Nash is set to be a star in her own right.

Kate Nash- Caroline's A Victim
Kate Nash- Foundations
Kate Nash- Birds
Kate Nash- Navy Taxi