MUSIC VIDEO: (PHOENIX)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j13Jwyb-AnA
Written
by Daniel Boyer, posted by blog admin
Sarah
Donner’s twelve song collection Black Hole Heart stands as the latest peak in
this New Jersey based songwriter’s continuing musical journey. Donner’s unique
mix of beautifully melodic vocals, folk, pop, and singer/songwriter tendencies
comes together in an acoustic package with songs never threatening to tax
listener’s patience with over-indulgence. She keeps everything focused and
emphasizes a melody first approach, but these are songs are distinguished by
top shelf lyrical content intelligently straddling a line between performed
poetry and well-worded yet conversational lines. She works with a relatively
small cast of supporting musicians and some key guest stars make their presence
felt on a couple of the album’s later tracks. Black Hole Heart is rife with
personal touches, universal themes and emotions capable of striking a chord
with wide audiences, and a surprising sense of musical daring on even the most
conventional numbers. The spark of something special burns bright in these
songs.
“Phoenix”
begins Black Hole Heart and it’s easy to hear why. The accompanying video for
this song is quite strong but the song stands quite fine on its own thanks to a
seamless marriage between voice, lyric, and music, a well-observed running
time, and a superior vocal performance from Donner. The title song is likely
one of the more commercial moments on the album for most listeners but that shouldn’t
imply any cheapening of Donner’s approach. It’s all about the song’s build and
how the tension is so artfully threaded into the arrangement and never
threatens to overwhelm listeners. Her acoustic guitar attack on “Florida” is a
critical factor in the success of that song, but the domestic strife depicted
so unflinchingly in the lyrics benefits from her evocative and incongruously gentle
vocal treatment. “Tamsen Donner 1847” comes from a more traditional folk song
point of view and her facility with this style is obvious. The song is
structured in the style of a letter or diary entries. We sense early on, based
on historical knowledge as well, that the song won’t end well for its subject
and Donner handles this denouement with all the artfulness you might expect.
The
trumpet and organ making an appearance on “The Flood” helps add color and
musical entertainment to an otherwise challenging song lyrically. Donner
certainly sings it with genuine fearlessness and gets deep into the lyric for
an ultimately spellbinding effect on listeners. Piano and vocals alone
basically carry the musical day in Donner’s performance of the song “Big Big
Heart” and her singing certainly scales rather impressive emotional heights
without ever becoming too over-wrought. Guest vocalist Michael McLean brings a
different voice to the proceedings with his contributions on the song “All The
Things” and it makes for one of the more sensitively rendered entries on Black
Hole Heart. The album concludes with the song “Sol 549” and the mournful,
elegiac note she strikes with this song, her vocal treated with some light
post-production effects, never cancels out the delicate and abiding love
percolating through the song. Black Hole Heart is successful for a host of
reasons, but the naked vulnerability and honesty that Donner brings to her
performances is a key reason why and sets this apart from a host of releases in
this style.
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