Emily
Cavanagh – Keep It With Mine (Independent)
Perhaps it’s the Norah Jones effect, but over the
past decade or so, jazz has become a major influence on singer-songwriters.
Whether it’s a welcome development or not, cannot be judged simply on that one
aspect. As always, songwriters are judged on the quality of their words and
singers on their voice. Their influences are rarely discussed when the prizes
are being handed out.
Emily Cavanagh was born and raised in Chicago, and is
now resident in New York, where she runs a non-profit creative arts project for
formerly homeless young adults, instilling in her students a love of artistic
pursuits and, at the same time, releasing three albums of her own. Her latest,
“Keep It With Mine” seems to be the most readily available, though all three
titles are listed on Amazon, which is fortunate, as anyone listening to this
ten-track collection will doubtless want to hear more.
Taking its title from a Bob Dylan song “Keep It With
Mine” indicates, with some subtlety, and no little ingenuity, that Cavanagh
sees herself primarily as a singer-songwriter. I’m inclined to agree; her songs
tell stories that lay bare their subjects and impact on other songs, and she
does so with an impressive turn of phrase. She begins with “We Were Young”,
which, within its structure, contains elements of old European folk music,
country twang, and more than ample pop smarts. Her narrative flows and the
instrumentation is varied and sometimes unexpected.
“So It Goes” is an
altogether different kettle of fish. Its jaunty piano and lightness of touch
appears almost throwaway, yet its melody stays long after the music has
finished, and Cavanagh’s vocal is faultless. “C'mon
Let's Do” is just as catchy, its insistent rhythm driving the song
along, and its simple “la-la” refrain impossible not to be swept away by.
Whereas the elegiac “Flower & Stone” carries
a deal of sadness on its shoulders, its effect magnified by what sounds like a
lonesome pedal steel, and Cavanagh’s relatively subdued delivery.
Tony S.
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