Scott Warren “Dyed In The Wool”
Formerly of Signal Hill Transmission, Warren gives us his 2nd solo effort. The bouncy opener “Divisible/Indivisible” leads with Beatles styled brass and handclaps. “No One’s Home Anymore” is a solemn mix of “Elenor Rigby” till you get to the fast paced chorus. My favorite here is “When She Comes Around” a gentle love song with a great bass line and catchy jangle chorus.
The stripped down, sparse approach concentrates on Scott’s lyrics and composition, this works well on “Guess I Should Tell You.” And it also works magic on simple pop treats like the “Dime Novel” and the Shins styled “Sinking Feeling.” Even the slightly psyche-pop closer “Tongue-tied” is a marvel of melody with natural sound effects. After several spins this album grew on me like a well worn pair of jeans, and would make a excellent headphones album on a quiet night.
Sara Melson “The Beachwood Canyon Sessions”
Sara Melson is one of those artists, who have such a lovely voice you wonder “How come I never heard her before?” – especially since her debut Dirty Mind from 2008 was considered a folk pop success and she’s been a TV actress. Since that time Sara left her label, sold songs to TV and like Jeff Lynne of ELO, has decided to re-record and reinterpret some of those songs in a stripped down manner for The Beachwood Canyon Sessions.
Coming at these tunes fresh, Sara breathes real life into them, the songs have spiritual quality with “Birthday Prayer” where she looks back and forward at once. The optimism of “Never Been Hurt” is tempered with caution after the chorus where “…my fear has got no chance of winning.” Each track charms and let’s Melson’s personality shine through. Fans of Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Sarah MacLachlan will savor this.