After reading Will's post about Erin McKeown (in which he makes an odd sort of claim about poetic constraint and musical creativity, dicussed further in his comments) I immediately downloaded Sing You Sinners. And wow. I've loved some of her work in the past -- although I apparently missed We Will Become Like Boards (!) -- but her flair for these standards blew me away.
What's impresses me most about McKeown is her voice. It's not a particularly powerful or soulful voice, certainly not for today's pop, but she demonstrates more vocal control than any other pop singer I can think of. Her diction is outrageously precise, as is her timing. And if you listen closely you'll notice that she rarley sings a note without some kind of calculated slide in it. (Sometimes all the manipulated intonation reminds me a little of sprechstimme.) In the case of Sing You Sinners, she pushes hard on these abilities, using them in surprising and smart ways that really transform the standards she's chosen. It's good stuff.
You can stream a few of her songs at her website.
Funny thing is that I discovered her just last year, through Pandora, and have been pretty pleased with her music thus far. Good stuff, indeed.
Thanks - I'm definitely checking it out!
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