at the moment...

...i'm in love with Shara Worden. Well, at least her voice.

As much as i would like to believe that i've grown and changed and diversified my tastes, i find that–more often than not–i'm doing the same thing that i always have. I'm this way with men, and women, violas, and apparently female vocalists.

I always think that i've become attracted to something novel and exotic, only to realize that it's just a combination of things i've previously loved. If you ask me if i have a type, i'd probably tell you i didn't. I'd say i like a pretty varied selection, that i don't have specific things i look for, that i'm open to anything. But at the end of the day...the albums i buy, the people i sleep with, the instruments i play, they're all the same.

Sometimes i wonder if i'm destined to fall in love with the same things forever.

Let's talk about Shara.
She is My Brightest Diamond.
If' you've been in a room with me and a set of speakers in the past week, i probably forced you to listen to her.
Her album, "Bring Me the Workhorse, totally stopped me in my tracks.

I'm usually not an obsessive person when it comes to music. I get a new thing, i listen to it a few times, it joins the rest of my collection. But this album...it's different.

Shara has a dark, thick Fiona-Apple-ish voice. She's a trained opera singer and arranger; both qualities are apparent. The band is her plus or minus a few string players, an electric bass player, and a percussionist. The album is quiet and intense. The instrumentation is very sparse which allows for almost whispered, yet still completely audible vocals. I would put it somewhere between Bjork and Portishead, with slightly more of a melodic focus.

This is the last track on the album, it's got some Portishead to it. The song itself has a strange form. The line "bring me the workhorse, bring me the no good workhorse" only happens once (1:58), but it's so effective, i thought it happened several times. I guess that could be considered the bridge. I like the way space, and interlused are used. the song doesn't have many words, but remains interesting the whole time.



If you're a Decemberists fan, you'll recognize her as The Queen from their latest album, "The Hazards of Love." The first time i heard the track "The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid"  i knew it was only a matter of time before i tracked down everything she had ever done.

This is the first track on the album, it's got a little Bjork to it. The second verse/second chorus (2:24) have great uses of slightly non traditional songwriting to create a mood (non-words, rolled r's). I think it's much more effective on the album, where she doesn't have to sing louder than a guitar, instead that verse is almost sung too quiet...still you'll get the point.



I'm excited about this band
And would like to share them with you
I know its not for everyone
But at least for now
It's definitely for me.