Sara Jackson-Holman
When You Dream
(Expunged)
It seems 2010 has been the year of the solo female singers. Whether this is true for the general public, or just reflects my ever-changing taste in music (Incubus, anyone?), I seem to be reviewing another "single" lady every other week.
Not that I’m complaining. Each of them are unique, complex, and blessed with amazing vocal cords. And, generally, very talented - as is the case with Sara Jackson-Holman. She comes from a classical background, and the training quite pays off. But it’s not just practice that makes this album near-perfect; it’s also Jackson-Holman’s raw talent and clever songwriting that has gotten her this far.
At times, she reminds me of Norah Jones, at other times Tom Lehrer. Which isn’t to say she’s all over the place; the record comes together nicely. One of the main things I like about When You Dream is that it doesn’t seem to be full of songs about boys or songs about her current mental state. It sounds more like someone’s journal if their journal was a songbook. The whole album seems dreamlike: half-remembered memories, pauses, sometimes jaunty and upbeat, other times inexplicably sad.
The music itself is usually just Jackson-Holman’s piano and the occasional drums or stringed instrument. There’s an international feeling to the melodies, switching from a French influence (but creepy, like a dark, Parisian alleyway) to “Let Me In,” which sounds Russian to me in its insistence.
Jackson-Holman crafts some particularly heartbreaking lines: “If only I had the luxury of retrospect, sounds like you’re speaking some sorta form of dialect,” “A childhood came and left us like a dream…” There’s also “The star you wished on fell to Earth and set my heart on fire,” which is a terribly clichéd sounding phrase, but captured my imagination nonetheless.
Too bad most radio stations don’t have the space to regularly play these amazing women, Jackson-Holman especially included. Oh well. No one listens to the radio anymore anyway, right? |
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