MUSIC VIDEO: (PHOENIX)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j13Jwyb-AnA
Written
by Frank McClure, posted by blog admin
One
of the most beautiful aspects of Sarah Donner’s album Black Hole Heart is how
fresh these familiar acoustic soundscapes sound in her hands. Donner has an
unique talent for making the textures and tones of traditional folk music come
alive with an almost pop-song like energy and has a penchant for structuring
her folk-influenced tunes in a manner that mimics the orchestrations common in
pop songs. It makes many of the tracks on Black Hole Heart stand out in a
crowded musical style where it’s often a struggle to tell the difference
between various musicians. Donner also possesses a set of pipes that rate among
the most expressive instruments either on the indie or mainstream scene today –
she comes off, truly, as a singer capable of handling any material. She wisely
writes songs, however, that play to her strengths and the dozen songs on Black
Hole Heart are fully realized musical pieces with considerable melodic and
vocal strengths.
The
best possible opening for the album is “Phoenix” and Donner, thankfully,
concurs. The melodicism of the vocal and arrangement alike have a gentle, but
lively, glitter that work perfectly together and Donner gives one of her best
singing performances while still lacking some of the overt vocal pyrotechnics
we hear on later tracks. Piano and acoustic guitar work extremely well together
on the superbly constructed “Black Hole Heart” and the personal nature of the
lyric nevertheless touches on emotions we can all relate to and wisely avoids
too many specific details that might isolate it from our experience. The folk
song influences running through “Tamsen Donner 1847” somewhat obscure the five
star writing job that forms the heart of the song. Donner’s done a great job
conjuring the atmosphere of a doomed voyage in her lyrics and the crystalline
musical backing is quite appropriate for the work. The rustic, bluegrass tinged
qualities of “Athena” means the song is essentially cut from the same cloth as
the aforementioned “Tamsen Donner 1847”, but the jaunty air of the musical
arrangement couldn’t contrast any sharper with the earlier song’s mood.
Mike
Batchlor’s organ work and fine trumpet playing from Phillip Fillion distinguish
“The Flood” musically from the surrounding songs. Donner’s vocal excellence is
just as impactful with the added instrumentation and she clearly draws a
certain degree of inspiration from the near-shuffle guitar and unusual
instrumentation. Some humor creeps in near the end of “The Longest Road”, but
this is otherwise another affecting, personally-slanted tune that Donner gives
a zesty, impassioned reading of. “Sinking Ship” is reminiscent of the earlier “Tamsen
Donner 1847” in a few ways, but it’s most notable another character driven
piece where Donner embodies the voice for a narrator on the cusp of losing
their life. Despite the weighty scenario, the music maintains a tasteful air
rife with haunting atmospherics. Black Hole Heart solidifies Donner’s standing
as one of the best singer/songwriters working on the indie scene today.
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