Amber Delarentis’s fourth CD Innocent Road reveals her to be an exceptional jazz-pop vocalist. While she manages all the challenges of a jazz singer, she convincingly injects enough catchy bright moments to satisfy those looking for bright accessible music that stays in the head. Co-written with Sarah Blue and Tom Cleary, these songs satisfy on many levels.
Possessing a strong, clear voice, Delaurentis moves opening track “Passing Cloud” along with her strong musical personality. Cooing over a nimble lead guitar and swirling organ, she contrasts both with her silky power, highlighting the beauty of each.
“You Ran The Red Light” is a brisk, pop flavored tune. Delaurentis powers this song with the way her voice
Gently pushes everything forward. Her shiny piano melody sparkle with bright peppy notes that engage with their light and speed. Delaurentis also maintains a persistent urgency here, as if something terrible has happened even though her rendering is pop fun.
Title track “Innocent Road” lets Delaurentis fill in the space left open by strings, violin, viola, and a moody synth. She makes her voice as clear and as expressive as any of these classical or modern instruments that help tell her story. She has the same muscular tension in her voice that can be found in a violin. She uses this strength wisely, putting fiber into her lyrics with the same authority as a perfectly bowed instrument.
The jazzy “Close To Me” shows how well Delaurentis can shift tempos and dynamics to flesh out a vocal melody. She makes it all seem easy as her voice makes it silky travels over the soundscape of this piece. Her gently piano tinkling puts a sunlight sparkle on running spring water brightness to her song.
Entering with a rivulet of classy piano notes and a moody accordion, “Sunset Already” is a whispery beauty. Delaurentis’s vocal, self-restrained and self-disciplined, takes up just enough of the space between her sweet accompaniment. Swaying in between her piano and her violinist, she colors the song brightly, making it accessible and hugely pleasant. She coos too and once again her voice is a perfectly utilized instrument. There is also a smooth, subtle bass guitar line making for supple backbone here, so supportive yet so flexible.
“A Couple Of Aches” offers beautiful instrumentation. A lead guitar sublimely expresses the tenderness of this song. Trombone and trumpet bring a wavy grace to this atmosphere. Swirling organ contributes something earthy. Delaurentis, meanwhile, moves through it with an ambient vocal that just barely kisses the instrumentation coming on around her.
Close out track “Deepening Days” makes a magnificent entrance with a sustained coo from Delaurentis and an English horn played by Nadine Carpenter. Delaurentis continues her graceful vocal glide singing over an old-fashioned harpsichord. The instrumentation gives a hint of English baroque music from an earlier century. Vocally accompanied by husband and co-writer Tom Cleary, Delaurentis reaches a special perch with her vocal. It’s tender, forlorn, yet fully emotive. Cooing and harmonizing, the pair offer an artistic expression of this number’s theme.
Wow. That is the best word to describe what Delaurentis and her fellow musicians accomplish in terms of the sounds and sound quality of this album. Producer Colin McCaffrey, who supplies the sublime guitar work on this album, turned the knobs. Recoded by McCaffrey at The Green Room in East Montpelier, Vermont, and, by Lane Gibson at Lane Gibson Recording at Charlotte, Vermont, this recording also features electric bassist Justin Dunn, drummer Caleb Bronz, violinist Laura Markowitz, cellist John Dunlop, trombonist George Voland, trumpeter Rich Steele. Each player contributed finely to this recording. We can only wait and watch to see what Delaurentis and her support players come up with next time. This album is also further proof that Vermont is beautiful.
