Sarah Swain’s latest CD Every Little Bird is a feast of roots rock material sure to please every fan of her genre. Aside from having a pretty, silky, rangy voice, Swain stretches her natural timbre over a variety of approaches and structures.
Opening track “Ain’t Going Back” has a swaying edge pushing its way forward. Over that feisty movement, Swain sings it like she means it when tells a guy he’s got to go. Her timbre has a natural rustic quality, making her a natural to sing along side honky tonk lead guitar and rootsie rhythmic riffing. She’s also got herself a tune that is catchy and hummable, even as it travels mellow over a long dirt road.
Title track “Every Little Bird” allows Swain a lot of open space to let her girlishly sweet voice unfurl. Her accompaniment is light, sparse, her voice carrying the wide sweep of this one, shining like a star as her voice travels over a wide open field. An electric guitar phrase expresses itself well while a second, twangy guitar adds another catchy rustic feeling.
“Stars Are Meteors” is a breezy organ swept mid tempo joy ride. Swain glides, up peaks and down valleys, over an easeful, nuanced instrumentation. She caresses the vocal melody here, pleasing the ear with a softer use of her silky timbre. She has a pull, something in her vocal that makes the listener want to fly with her on her magic carpet ride through a sky of instrumentation.
Swain is also unafraid to take on material written by the masters. She commands Irving Berlin’s jaunty, jazzy “Walking Stick” as if the song was her, well, walking stick, one she tosses up in the air, catches skillfully, and twirls before returning it to its original mission. Swain’s voice rides the bouncy, joyful rhythmic click of this song so well it isn’t funny. She seems to find the right gust of wind for her sails then just goes with the air current. She also bring out the tougher side of her timbre, singing like a tough, gutsy showgirl with a bit more edge here. The piano and guitar work in this song are as much fun too.
Swain’s band give her an edgier rockabilly backing on “Why You Been Gone So Long.” A real small town girl hipster here, she sings it with a striking, defiant attitude. This is also a good song to two step to as her guitarist presses out a twisty country fried force, dancing around an upright bass line that too makes one want to move one’s feet. Vocal charm and musical edge combine to make this a winsome number.
“Carol” benefits from a cold, moody fiddle line and a snapping electric guitar phrase. Over that platform Swain emotes about the intermittent joy in a friend’s life. The bittersweet emotive core of this tune comes from the perfect balance of melancholy instrumentation and sunny, upbeat vocalizing. Swain creates, seemingly out of thin air, a lightness in the higher tones of this song, and it works beautifully.
“Truest Soldier” is another of Swain’s tender, mid-tempo ditties. She applies her girlish timbre well to this genre defying tune, letting her sweet vocal assertions milk a lot of feeling out of her insightful metaphor. It is also cool how the drums stir up a lot of notes with a few extra motions, making it feel like Swain and her support players are performing over a cushion of air.
Swain struts her stuff on her edgy, honky tonk “Whiskey 3-Step,” belting with gutsy charm amidst feisty, rocking guitar, thumping strong bass guitar, old time piano rolls, and muscular drum work. One can picture Swain kicking her feet while her band lays down the attitude. She uses her voice cleverly, punctuating the instrumentation, as opposed to having the band slam it home during her vocal rests. This intrigues the ear with lively unpredictability.
“Candle” plays out softly, with quiet banjo plucking and its tender, slightly accented electric guitar. Swain’s vocal is a sweet, full whisper here. She never wrestles with the instrumentation for edge. Rather, she softly tip toes around the pointier notes, and the contrast highlights how much emotion and nuance she has in her voice.
“Start The Circle” is another easeful glide, unfurling like a flag in a warm summer’s breeze. Swain lets her multiple vocal qualities just ooze out of her lips and into her microphone. There is no forcing the words or melody here. Swain caresses her lyrics with warmth and affection, letting her words take form in the listener’s mind.
Swain goes up tempo on her rockabilly-R&B mash up “I’m Coming.” The girl rocks right out in glorious style. She sings at a brisk clip, keeping her empowered self-anthem big and bossy. An acoustic guitar solo knocks down the door before she reenters and belts it with more sustained attitude.
Swain closes out her album with “Sweet Lorraine,” a smoky, piano bar melody that lets her sing in a character voice. She’s a bit jazzy here, phrasing it with some sophistication, putting more considerate emphasis on tone and melody, as opposed to dynamics, range, and sustain. She and her piano player are all class as this one rides out in style.
Swain, by the time her album is over, has walked her listener through a myriad of Americana roots styles. Her voice and songwriting on Every Little Bird allow her to harness the best qualities out of that genre. She also milks her selected standards for all their worth too, after arranging them to her satisfaction. Swain’s CD should be musts for anybody who loves her genre.
