EP Review: Haroula Rose - 'So Easy'

Singer/songwriter Haroula Rose delivered one of 2011’s most charming debuts, These Open Roads, her reflective, mostly acoustic-folk songcraft coupled with an unaffected empathy in her singing endearing her as an artist of depth and considerable promise.

The five songs that comprise So Easy (released earlier this year) convey much the same charm while in some moments illustrating a bit more eclecticism, including broader sonic textures and some fuller-band arrangements. The title track, in particular, is an immediate standout with an irresistibly poppy, Beatlesque vibe, while “Only Friends” evokes the sort of wistfulness expressed in scenes of unrequited movie love.

With scarcely more than a piano accompanying her voice, Haroula Rose delivers a hauntingly beautiful, soul-clutching rendition of “Wichita Lineman,” distilling its underlying sense of lonesome desolation to its barest essence. Not only should this performance make the song’s composer Jimmy Webb proud, but it also deserves to be considered among its most definitive versions.

Altogether this modest set is reflective of an artist who is making good on the potential she displayed on her debut while growing more imaginative and confident with her talent.

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EP Review: Diana Pops - For Bright Minds in Dark Corners

Canadian singer/songwriter Diana Pops makes a provocative and promising first impression with her recently released debut EP, For Bright Minds in Dark Corners.

With her own rich piano playing at the forefront, she draws on rock, classical and melodic-pop elements to evoke a warm, sullen vibe, giving the four songs on this disc a unifying, austere distinction. Likewise, her voice is impassioned and in rendering some rather introspective lyrics, as in the opener, “Light My Cigarette,” she compares to the likes of Rachael Yamagata or perhaps Sarah McLachlan circa “Possession.”

Clearly Diana Pops takes the craft of songwriting seriously, and as a result these tracks tend to come across as sophisticated, soulful compositions. “The End Begins” makes for a fine example of this, as the artist engages a cadenced, almost trance-like rhythm with flourishing piano accompaniment. Most impressive and affecting, though, is “Silver Ship,” a tour de force which starts out like a sonata and builds—gradually incorporating strings and percussion along the way—toward a powerful resolution that is at turns epic and intimate.

And so even at its brevity, this set reveals an intriguing, gifted artist with an encouraging future ahead. Highly recommended.

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Sonya Kitchell Is Bold, Ambitious On New EP, Convict of Conviction

It’s always inspiring to see artists engage the promise of their talent, challenging themselves and exploring their creative curiosities. Over the past four years since her critically acclaimed folk/pop debut, Words Came Back To Me, Sonya Kitchell has reflected an exploratory, progressive approach toward her craft. She emphasized as much with her 2008 LP, This Storm, on which she broadened the scope of her aesthetic with an eclectic set of folk, pop and jazz.

Kitchell has experimented even more now on her latest release, an EP entitled Convict of Conviction, forgoing much of the eclecticism that shaped her previous works in favor of something more concentrated and decidedly austere. She’s further refined her jazz sensibilities, employing them here on “Mr. Suicidal” to striking effect through rhythmic, tension-and-release progressions and abrupt tempo shifts. More pronounced, though, is a classical disposition that Kitchell cultivates, her voice — a thing of beauty in itself, imbued with depth and warm, lilting inflection — exquisitely suiting the nuances yielded by these arrangements. Foremost in this vein is “Sinks Like A Stone,” a sparse and sprawling ballad guided by Kitchell’s discreet piano playing and the subtle accompaniment of an upright bass. Comparably, “Lighthouse” and “Snowing,” the latter featuring a vocal so pristine it reaches near-operatic distinction, are evocative highlights as well.

Kitchell is a bold, gifted artist with the potential of developing into a significant one over time. That Convict of Conviction is but her third release (even at its abbreviated length) is, in all honesty, mind-boggling. At a stage in her career when other artists would sooner nurture an established style or sound lest they alienate listeners, she instead has taken no small risk here. And it’s a risk that has paid off, culminating in music that is sophisticated and, at the same time, deeply moving.

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