Lara Herscovitch‘s third CD Highway Philosophers possesses a fine folksy feel from beginning to end. This artist conjures images of the American way of life with vivid imagery, soothing acoustic music, and a voice that can manage a lot of subtle deliveries.
Opening track “Now Here This” feels large in purpose as it does in song craft. Herscovitch sings in a forlorn ton, suggesting she’s discussing the aftermath of a large matter. Her voice briefly hovers over her sparse accompaniment, lightening her weighty subject matter by shining a light into a dark area. She captures and delivers the mood perfectly, and it’s impossible to not get caught up in her world.
“Angels” is another beautifully sparse tune. Herscovitch’s voice is pure, clear, and she sends her voice over her acoustic and electric guitar mesh with a tender self-restraint. This keeps the power of her song just below the surface and makes her voice a perfect match for the weave of sweet guitars beneath her.
Title track “Highway Philosophers” pushes forward with a beautifully persistent acoustic guitar strum. Herscovitch’s voice sprawls her voice over her musings of life and all that it brings to us. Her easeful vocal is a perfect accompaniment to her easy going reflections, recalling things as they were, understanding that it is what is. Lead and back vocals mesh into a net of sweet sound as a mesh of acoustic and electric guitars tweak the emotive content for the better.
With a snappy electric guitar and its ringing tones as support, Herscovitch conveys a mournful beauty on “Careful Porcelain Dolls.” This singer-songwriter puts forth strong emotion with a dynamically assertive vocal. It expands and growths in expression as she moves along, inspired likely by a need to sing out the truth. It’s uncanny how well Herscovitch gets so much emotion running through her song without belting. Her coos and sustains are sunny, soaring, and she wraps up this song beautifully with her final sustain.
“You USA” is a reminder that the good ole US of A is a mixed blessing of existence. There are too many things that are going uncorrected. Herscovitch sings in an almost conversational pace, making her words and thoughts feel like a personal talk. That delivery perfectly matches her somber acoustic guitar work as well as a wondering electric guitar line in the backdrop.
“Sailing To Newfoundland,” a beautiful travel song, laden with sea and land shore imagery, is a fun ride. Herscovitch’s lilting vocal melody and breezy acoustic and a wandering electric fill this one with motion. It is also about longing, needing a change in scenery and in lifestyle, emotions that Herscovitch serves up well with tempo changes, coos, and sustains.
“Fault Lines” is a sonic landscape of pretty electric guitar notes that move around a gentle acoustic melody. Herscovitch’s self-restrained power moves through the tender spaces of the instruments, carrying through as precise as a train on its rails, as sweet as honey in its shine and flow.
“Shine Sister Shine” comes the closet out of these folksy numbers to being a catchy singer-songwriter tune. Herscovitch Sings with an upbeat assertion, a bounce in her vocal step, and, she blends perfectly with her backing vocalists during a hooky chorus. Her stop-start strumming approach and the percussion here all add up to one fun song that could be this album’s hit single on local radio programs.
“Castle Walls” is a sleeper. It takes its time unfurling its theme, drawling, bright vocals feel upbeat as a simple chord progression tip toes slowly forward. Herscovitch unleashes only brief puffs of her vocal power, brief sustains, things that we wouldn’t notice if the melody this singer-songwriters sings was not so imbued with emotions
Herscovitch makes one of her strongest impressions on “The Tiger And I.” She sends her pretty voice up high, over Stephen Murphy’s mandolin melody. There is a sweet contrasts between her smooth lead and backing vocals to high notes arising from that older acoustic instrument. This tune also has a jaunty chord progression that makes one want to go along with the joy ride.
“Rise” forms itself around clusters of vocal and guitar notes. These clusters move in a circular motion as Herscovitch moves around them in quaint fashion. She occasionally accents her vocal notes for more emphatic impact. These techniques boost the witty report this singer-songwriters makes to us about a not so superior emperor.
“In Your Corner” feels as supportive in its solid acoustic guitar strum as it does in its lyrical theme. Metaphorically, it’s about a struggling boxer, but it’s really about supporting anyone who appears to be going down for the count. Herscovitch sends her voice over her sparse accompaniment with a gentle push, a lovely assertion that keeps this song wrapped in warmth
With tender ripples of multiple acoustic notes beneath her, Herscovitch sails across puffs of air on “Wingspan.” She takes her time unfurling her expansive theme and expansive sound. It’s worth the wait. Her voice is crisply pretty here, and she weaves a special allure with her voice and support instruments.
Close out song “From A Dream” is loaded with nice vocal touches. A cooing chorus, a spoken word narrative, and a segue in to “Auld Lang Syne” over a wedge of thumpy percussion make an impression. It subtle allure keeps on focuses on this cleverly constructed farewell for now song.
Herscovitch has much to be proud of in this Highway Philosophers album. Working with Craig Aiken, Joe Jencks, Brian Melick, Stephen Murphy, and Adam Michael Rothberg who chimed in from studios in the Bronx, Jersey City, Dekalb, Illinois, Ravena, New York, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, Herscovitch captures a sound as beautiful as her stirring vision of America.
