Spring Break
Live session with Ingrid Michaelson
Allie Clark
Issue date: 2/20/09 Section: Diversions
Ingrid Michaelson
Exclusive Live Session
Four stars
Label: Cabin 24 Records / iTunes
Check out: "The Chain," "Far Away"
Skip: "Creep (Radiohead Cover)" It's an EP, you really shouldn't skip any of the songs.
If you don't know who Ingrid Michaelson is, that's okay. I didn't know who she was until early this fall when a friend made me a mix and put two of her songs on it. The first song I ever heard by her was "Be Ok," the sunny, bouncy song about just making it through the day. I was singing along by the second chorus - it's that catchy.
"Be Ok" just happens to be the first song on Ingrid Michaelson's recent "Live Session EP" release. The track keeps all of its sunny disposition, but on this live track, Michaelson's voice feels more mature and a little more longing as she says, "I'm beyond repair/let me be/and give me back my broken parts." It's a very subtle difference - probably just the result of more vocal experience on her part - but you can really hear the gorgeous, rich tones in her voice, and it lends just enough emotion to the song to keep it from getting too sugary.
The next track is a minor-keyed song called "The Chain." Here, Michaelson plays with imagery: "the sky looks pissed/the wind talks back." The chorus would make a poetry professor proud: "so glide away on soapy heels/and promise not/to promise anymore/and if you come around again/then I will take the chain from off the door." The chorus gently develops from a sleepy melody to a full round and then suddenly drops off to a vocals-only round of the chorus that lightly drapes a melancholic mood over you like blankets on a cold night. Evocative without being depressing, hopeful yet mellow, this track is one of the gems of the EP.
The next track, "Far Away," picks up significantly. The first verse is about being a lobsterman's wife, and the guitar has a marked wiggle to it, making the whole song almost bounce. "Far away, far away/ I wanna go far away," Michaelson sings, and with this cheerful, folksy melody, you'll want to go with her.
Exclusive Live Session
Four stars
Label: Cabin 24 Records / iTunes
Check out: "The Chain," "Far Away"
Skip: "Creep (Radiohead Cover)" It's an EP, you really shouldn't skip any of the songs.
If you don't know who Ingrid Michaelson is, that's okay. I didn't know who she was until early this fall when a friend made me a mix and put two of her songs on it. The first song I ever heard by her was "Be Ok," the sunny, bouncy song about just making it through the day. I was singing along by the second chorus - it's that catchy.
"Be Ok" just happens to be the first song on Ingrid Michaelson's recent "Live Session EP" release. The track keeps all of its sunny disposition, but on this live track, Michaelson's voice feels more mature and a little more longing as she says, "I'm beyond repair/let me be/and give me back my broken parts." It's a very subtle difference - probably just the result of more vocal experience on her part - but you can really hear the gorgeous, rich tones in her voice, and it lends just enough emotion to the song to keep it from getting too sugary.
The next track is a minor-keyed song called "The Chain." Here, Michaelson plays with imagery: "the sky looks pissed/the wind talks back." The chorus would make a poetry professor proud: "so glide away on soapy heels/and promise not/to promise anymore/and if you come around again/then I will take the chain from off the door." The chorus gently develops from a sleepy melody to a full round and then suddenly drops off to a vocals-only round of the chorus that lightly drapes a melancholic mood over you like blankets on a cold night. Evocative without being depressing, hopeful yet mellow, this track is one of the gems of the EP.
The next track, "Far Away," picks up significantly. The first verse is about being a lobsterman's wife, and the guitar has a marked wiggle to it, making the whole song almost bounce. "Far away, far away/ I wanna go far away," Michaelson sings, and with this cheerful, folksy melody, you'll want to go with her.
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