Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Langorous ,cool, enjoyable debut album, 9 Feb 2008
Sarabeth Tucek wrote to Bob Dylan's management company enclosing a demo tape. This audacity earned her a support slot when Dylan played near her home town and one thing led to another and before you could say audacious Tucek ,s debut album was out in the states and now it's out over here on the little known "Echo" label. You can see why Dylan's management picked up on her because she has talent both as a songwriter and a singer.
Her voice lacks real dynamism but has a mature quality that speaks of much life experience. It's a malleable thing with a pleasing burred edge on some tracks while on others it becomes almost frosty and crisply enunciated . The songs are not going to knock your socks off with effusive melodies and skull shattering sonic invention , indeed they are likely to lull into a sanguine but pleasant torpor at times but they do have a kind of sly insidious charm . In fact in a lot of ways this album reminds me of "Distance And Time " by Fink whose songs lack immediate impact but grow on the listener with repeated listens .
Most of the songs are built around hazily strummed guitar chords but the songs are augmented by banjo, pedal steel, organ, piano, ukulele and even some brass. Influences on her music have been flung about with wild abandon and include Cat Power, Beth Orton, Neko Case , Nanci Griffiths and even PJ Harvey though I disagree with that one. I would like to add Mazzy Star to the equation .This album reminds me a lot of their debut album "She Hangs Brightly" , sharing it's languorous but cool grace.
On first listen the songs all sound the same and by that I mean they all do really sound the same...same pace , same time signatures ,same everything but further investigation reveals they all start to make specific sense. "Stillborn" starts like a Swans funereal dirge before the notes stretch out and glisten and the harmonies slide in. "Home " is the most diverse track with elegiac strings gliding serenely across the melody while on "Holy Smoke" the chords coral ominously round her vocal. Before pirouetting off into the distance. "Hey You" has slinky pedal steel and more lovely harmonies while "Nobody Cares" comes dangerously close to languid harmonic pop . "Hot Tears " is dramatic and compelling .Only the mundane "Ambulance " prosaic "Nightlight" and lacklustre " Come Back Balloon" stop the album being a furtive all out classic.
Sarabeth Tucek is a clever lyricist as well , her songs having a biting mordant wit balanced against moments of poetic clarity . I've ended up liking this album a lot when after the first listen I thought i would end up selling it on as soon as possible . As it is I listen to it a lot. Anyone wanting someone a little bit different from the proliferation of female singer/songwriters around at the moment would be well advised to seek Sarabeth Tucek out.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unexpected Delight., 15 Dec 2007
This one caught me by surprise. I got it on the strength of reviews that suggested she had an amazing voice(comparisons to Karen Dalton, Nico, Cat Power and Karen Carpenter(!)have been made), and the suggestion that musically some of her songs recalled "After The Gold Rush" era Neil Young. Well as is often the case there is something in those comparisons but they don't tell the whole story.
The first thing that strikes you is her voice. It's fantastic, there is the tiniest trace of a Karen Dalton-like catch in the throat on some songs but you'd miss it if you weren't listening for it, with similarly subtle similarities to other vocalists. Ultimately, you'd have to say, she has her own unique voice.
The next thing that hits home is the quality of the songs, which offer a rich variety as well as great melodies. Musically the review I mentioned above got the right artist, wrong album, it's "Zuma" that it most reminds me of(but only on some of the tracks). As a whole package, though, she reminds me most of Aimee Mann, anyone who is fond of Aimee's "Whatever" album is bound to love this(it may be heresy to say it, but this may actually be better!). One good thing about the record is that, although the production is of a high standard it hasn't been over-polished.
If you were going to level a criticism at this album it is that it is not at the cutting edge of anything. If that isn't a concern, and if you want an album packed with high quality music, from soulful slow-burners, (with a touch of Cat Power's "The Greatest"), to mid-tempo rockers with a bit of a seventies vibe, all sung beautifully and performed perfectly, then this is the album for you.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sarabeth Tucek, 4 May 2009
Came quickly in perfect condition and plays ! Excellent album especially song 10. An artist on the way up for sure.
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