I tend to arrive at concerts in time to see the openers. Sometimes, they are absolutely horrible. Actually, a lot of the time I wonder how they got on tour in the first place. But other times, I am amazed and turned on to a cool new performer. The ratio is about 3 suck to 1 good so far. But this is a story about the good. “Teh suck” will come later.

Evan Field (guitar hero in Honor by August) pointed out that most of the female artists I listen to have a very similar vocal style (see Blondfire, Ivy, Stars), Imogen Heap, Shivaree), Emily Haines, etc.), so that I gravitated towards another similar delivery style is no surprise.

I went to the Ray Lamontagne show at the 9:30 club on his first record with Andy (aka DJ Kynz). Very quiet show. The opening artist was a woman and an acoustic guitarist (who Imogen later found out was Robert F. Cranny, Sarah’s co-writer and co-producer). Her name was Sarah Blasko [ official | wikipedia | myspace ]. She had a cool vocal delivery and song structure reminiscent of some of the darker Neil Finn stuff and lyrics heavily influenced by the Thom Yorke school. So I pick up the record, The Overture and the Underscore and it doesn’t leave my playlist for months. Songs like “Don’t U Eva” and “Perfect Now” are just these great sonic assemblies with complex orchestrations (underscore if you will).

Her first record/EP, Prelusive is different than her full length. It’s her still trying to find her voice, especially in the production sensibilities. But it’s great for a debut EP. Far better than most bands ever achieve.

She released a new record late last year in Australia, but it’s not yet hit the shelves in the US. What the Sea Wants the Sea Will Have is a more energetic record than the last, featuring a broader sonic range. I think most of this can be attributed to production but parts of it are simply the vocal delivery. The record was recorded at Neil Finn’s studio in New Zealand and features some very unique sounds. “Explain” features a Bassoon followed by a string section—not exactly standard rock fare. The record, and her material in general exhibits a large nod to classical. Songs like “Queen of Apology” have an underlying counterpoint that borders on baroque harpsichord lines. My favorite tune on the record is probably “Hammer” followed closely by “Queen of Apology” and “Always On This Line”. You can hear some of these on her myspace page.

Sadly, it looks like she has no upcoming US tour dates planned at this time.

Further Listening

Prelusive [ Amazon ]
The Overture and the Underscore [ Amazon | iTunes ]
What the Sea Wants the Sea Will Have [ Amazon ] (import only)

Various videos and live audio on the fan site

I recommend the Live at the Chapel (link to video zip download) performance from her Overture/Underscore record tour in Australia.