Sarah Mendelsohn’s debut solo CD IF is one of those local artist offerings that make you wonder why this artist is not already signed and famous. IF, loaded with finely crafted, rich, tuneful songs, manages to be a complete album experience from bright beginning to glorious finale. There are not too many traces of her work with area reggae band Duppy Conquerors. In fact, much of Mendelsohn’s material defies category.
Opening cut “Drowning” finds Mendelsohn crooning her sorrows with credible emotion and inflection. She sashays her vocal over a mournful but beautiful melody and groove from her adept support players, weaving even more emotion within this tuneful piece. There is a bit of a strut in the backing band’s march of notes that contrasts wonderfully with the haunted vocal and its sense of being caught in a bad place.
“Blind Side” travels along a country shuffle groove. Above the shuffle and a high stepping guitar line, Mendelsohn sings with a purty twang, full of heart while moving through multiple shifts in dynamics and range. She sings it fast, slower, higher, slightly lower. These inflections give the tune a large feeling of motion that matches the huge emotions Mendelsohn sings about.
Mendelsohn shows her chops even more on her tune “Evil Lurks There.” Just the way she sings those three words gives a sense of motion and emotion. Throughout this number Mendelsohn sings with a purity of voice and heart that cannot be matched. She climbs in strength and range as she rides her chorus then comes out of it ready to glide along the rails of verses with her lilting voice.
“No Man’s Land” gives enough of a country feel to imagine a woman living the honky tonk life this song is all about. Mendelsohn’s breezy vocal approach is easy on the ears as she tugs at our attention with the smooth prettiness of her timbre. Her slight touch of vocal twang finds a natural home among Jonas Kahn’s really cool lead guitar phrases, and that is just one more layer of a good, earthy thing.
Mendelsohn approaches the epic theme “My Armour Opened” with a low key swagger. She moseys on up to the moment with a careful consideration. The contrast between large, personal theme and easeful, mid tempo breeze creates a larger sense of what this tune is about. Kahn offers a keyboard accompaniment that tickles the ear while adding another layer of loss, fear, and uncertainty as Mendelsohn keeps this dandy feeling like a bittersweet affair. Did I mention that rapper Kabir Sen makes a strong appearance with a nifty reinforcement of Mendelsohn’s theme.
“I Will Rise” is a self-empowerment number. Mendelsohn is the girl who gets back on her proverbial horse and rides even being badly tossed off her first attempt. Her pretty chirp carry the lyrics well over a flinty lead guitar push. Bass player Joe Klompus keeps the song moving in a foamy motion and drummer Jeff Allison bumps it along with a hearty persistence. It feels real and its universality could make it a hit on local radio.
“Without Me There” is a somber reflection on letting go of one’s child, letting come what may without a loving mother standing guard. Mendelsohn’s voice captures the bittersweet feeling of separation, celebrating her child’s independence and wherewithal while wondering what might go down without a parental figure at the ready. It’s uncanny how well her range can capture and express ambivalent feelings. It’s the way she lays out her narrative in an upward trajectory, reaching lofty heights, meanwhile connecting with a universal feeling in motherhood that makes this piece standout. Kahn’s lead guitar phrased spreads over all, standing beside the lead vocal with its own tender sprawl.
“Ping In My Belly,” a Latin jazzy excursion is completed with a Latin flavored lead guitar line smoldering in the backdrop, buttressed by Latin trumpet conjured by mellotron. Mendelsohn sings this one with understated grace, a self-restraint that makes her vocal line adorable and fetching. She just lets the band play with out a lively air and colorful sounds while her voice anchors it in something sweetly shy.
Down tempo slow burner, “I Can’t Believe,” finds Mendelsohn’s silky voice flowing with inherent force over a tasteful, restrained lead guitar melody. She turns this tune into a personal anthem by stressing certain words with pause, sustain, and other techniques, giving polite emphasis to her sorrowful reflection of loss. She makes the listener feel the force of what she is feeling and that is the most important mission here.
“In My Veins” keeps things in an emotive slow groove. Mendelsohn recounts a disappointing relationship with someone who didn’t see her full potential or her life’s center of gravity. She sings in a drawling, emphatic manner that give the sense of time. Her soft vocal assertions keep things tender and she contrasts prettily against a slightly darker approach in the instrumentation below her voice. The song is another winner in an album of winners.
Like a lot of the material on this disc, “Rolling Sea” is a hard song to categorize. It cannot be easily pegged into the holes of classic rock, modern country, singer-songwriter, or adult alternative. As always, Mendelsohn’s voice carries itself well amidst tender touches of piano and a heartfelt lead guitar phrase. Her voice moves in and around it all with power and aplomb.
Closing track “Cocoon” allows Mendelsohn to end smoothly with a gentle, tender touch. Her voice, down tempo but as graceful as poetry, caresses the guitar melody she is alongside of. She milks each note for all its worth while making you feel what this song is all about.
Mendelsohn must have had these tune stirring in her soul for many years. This is an incredibly successful debut solo album. Her voice is a shiny vibrant instrument all its own. Her songwriting skills show true giftedness and her backing band do well at holding up all cornerstones of her album. Produced by Ducky Carlisle, Kahn, and Mendelsohn as well as engineered and mixed by Carlisle at his Ice Station Zebra studio in Medford, Massachusetts, the sound in each song has its own special sparkle. Bravo.
