Sarah Blasko
Country of origin:
Australia
Type of music generally:
Ectronic pop
Status:
Most recent release, What the Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have (2006/7)
See also:
Sarah Blasko's site
Comparisons:
Inara George, Carina Round; shades of Sarah McLachlan, Beth Orton, and Fiona Apple possibly
Covers/own material:
Own
General comments:
The Overture & the Underscore is her first full-length CD release, but she *has* been around for a while. She released an EP previously, Prelusive in 2002. And before then she used to front a band called Acquiesce who released their EP, Aa is for acquiesce in 1999. Don't bother looking for these in your local shops, the odds of finding them are probably about as good as winning lotto... (afries@zip.com.au)
Recommended first album:
The Overture & the Underscore
Recordings:
- Prelusive (ep, 2002)
- The Overture & the Underscore (2004/5)
- What the Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have (2006/7)
The Overture & the Underscore
Release info:
2005—Universal Records—B0004724-02
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Sarah Blasko—vocals, snare, cymbals, tambourine
Guest artists:
Joey Waronker—drums, percussion
Robert F. Cranny—bass, drum programming, horn & string sample arrangements, LinnDrum, whistle, morse code, drill
Wally Gagel—606 beat on "All Coming Back," hats & shaker, hi chorus synth, intro drums on "Counting Sheep"
Bruce MacFarlane—additional engineering (2, 9, 11), noisy synth on "Long Time"
Nadav & Edo Khan—ambient sounds
Brian Paturalski—sampling on the Discovery Store keyring mic
Darren Hanlon—additional backing vocals on "Always Worth It"
Korel Tunador—horns on "At Your Best"
Produced by:
Wally Gagel, Sarah Blasko, Robert F. Cranny
Comments:
Sarah Blasko has one of those voices I could listen to all damn day. It's pretty and sexy while being strong and forceful at the same time. There's a twinge of smoke to it too.
The music is hard to describe. I guess it's rock, but it's pretty edgy and not regular old rock. Not quite pop either. The songs are very well written, staying catchy and entertaining without ever straying to the boring or trite. Mainstream enough to keep newbies interested, yet intricate and layered enough to keep those of us listening for the 100th time, just as enthralled.
"Beautiful Secrets" has a Radiohead quality to it. [She and Carina Round] are sort of similar. Carina is a little harder, but Sarah still rocks out quite nicely.
This is an amazingly strong debut CD. In fact when I first heard someone mention this CD, I was sure she'd been around for a while and when I listened was even more sure. Then later found out this is her first release. This woman has a very promising future in music and I, for one, can't wait to hear more. But for now, this one goes on repeat.
Stand out songs: "All Coming Back", "Don't You Eva". Oh hell, I can't pick out just a few, they're really all good and I love them more with each listen. You will too.
Full review online at Collected Sounds. (amy@ecalos.com)The Overture & the Underscore is richly textured, dark-ish, and uses electronic... stuff; it should be filed under ectronica and beautiful & fierce. Whatever it is I find so compelling about this album is the same thing that makes it impossible to pinpoint why I find this album so compelling. All I know is that this has virtually lived in my cd player since I bought it months ago. I've listened to it dozens of times, sometimes two or three times in a row, a real rarity. An excellent and original debut from someone who should have a long and vibrant career. (JoAnn Whetsell)
What the Sea Wants, the Sea Will Have
Release info:
2006 (Australia), 2007 (U.S.)—Universal Music Australia—B0009815-02
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Sarah Blasko—drum programming, synth, vibraphone, organ, Wurlitzer, acoustic guitar, string arrangement (1), vocal arrangement (3, 11), vocals
Guest artists:
Robert F Cranny—bass guitar, guitar, acoustic, electric, and nylon string guitars, synth bass, SH-101, organ, piano, mellotron, Wurlitzer, string synth, harmonium, synth, sampler, drum machine, guitar feedback (12), vocals (8), vocal arrangement (3, 11), string arrangement (1, 3, 4, 12), bassoon arrangement (3)
Jim Moginie—Wurlitzer, piano, toy piano, omnichord, mellotron, electric guitar
Jeff de Araujo—drums, percussion
Stéphanie Zarka—violin
Michele O'Young—violin
David Wicks—viola
Andy Hines—cello
Andy Meisel—double bass
Jessica Chapnik—guest vocals (1)
Dave Symes—bass guitar, synth bass
Melaine Vanden Broek—bassoon
Kiri Eriwata, Ellen Kuiper, Cherie Mathieson, Antony Pickard, John Tuala—vocals (3, 4, 9, 11), vocal arrangement (11)
Knox Chandler—tremolo guitar (5), guitar sound (9)
Ben Fletcher—additional electric guitar (9)
Produced by:
Sarah Blasko, Robert F Cranny & Jim Moginie
Comments:
This is a stellar follow-up to an impressive debut album, and I'm so glad it's finally available in the States. What the Sea Wants, the Sea Will Have is full of richness and complexity, and what I like about it is as hard to define as what I like about The Overture & the Underscore. I can say that, in comparison, What the Sea Wants... is slower in tempo, more meditative. This isn't something I noticed until getting to one of the more upbeat, "pop" songs on the album that sounded like it would fit right in on The Overture & the Underscore. There are also some lovely, haunting choruses. Bottom line: If you liked The Overture & the Underscore, you will like What the Sea Wants, the Sea Will Have too. And if you haven't discovered Sarah yet, this is a great place to start. (JoAnn Whetsell)
Thanks to JoAnn Whetsell for work on this entry.
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