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Indie/grunge band-to-watch turns out to be a beast live.
BALANCE AND
COMPOSURE The Sinclair - Cambridge, MA February 22, 2013
by Mike Alexander photo by Matt Lambert
our
PHILOSOPHY ON REVIEWS
Alessi’s Ark The Still Life London, UK
OUR REVIEW SECTION IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. We don’t use a numbered scale or star system, and we don’t feature music we don’t like. Instead, think of this as our top picks of the month. These are the new releases that we’re really enjoying, and that we recommend you check out. We also mix in a few of our favorite live shows, as well as books and videos from time to time. Listen to the music featured in this issue at performermag.com
34 APRIL 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE
(Bella Union)
“Affectionately baroque indie-folk” The singer/songwriter’s third full-length LP is a baker’s dozen of amicable, soft-hearted songs that splash and sway like a babbling brook: unfeigned and harmonious. Alessi’s Ark’s sound is comforting, each track exhibiting her blend of delicate, sparse melodies and dreamy croons drifting atop an intimate air of relationships past. Her raspy, seasoned vocals
splendidly capturing adolescent compassion most commonly reserved for senior year breakup letters. Vocals on the album’s multi-tracked choruses pleasantly surround like stereophonic Sirens as they softly paint pictures of far-off English landscapes and broken-hearted individuals. The LP’s closer, “Pinewoods,” is a downbeat stroll that flows like a folk lullaby, opening with the sullen hook: “She goes on surviving on the memories, getting misty over you. While you’re pining over the bad words that have got ya doomed.” The album’s organic production and looming instrumentation allows Alessi’s Ark’s storybook lyrics to hold your hand down the curiously peaceful path that is the album’s collective 13-track adventure. www.alessisark.com -Taylor Haag