"Exclamation Love" - Ariel Abshire
After listening to a few too many songs and/or bands that seek to grab listeners by the collar with their quirkiness or their histrionics or their sheer volume, I find "Exclamation Love" to be a balm to the spirit. There's nothing here but a fine song and a confident but disciplined singer. Yeah, she lets a note or two rip now and then, but it's much more Neko Case than "American Idol": a sweet seasoning of reverb enhancing full-throated tones of startling purity. I keep waiting for her voice to wobble, vibrate, or crack with practiced emotion but she's having none of it. The closest Abshire gets to an emotional "trick" is at 3:40 when she starts flitting up to falsetto as she drags out the first syllable in "exclamation"--she's just moving one whole step up but the shift in tone gives it the effect of a dire leap. The song is already two-thirds through, and at that point it's no trick at all but a natural culmination of the journey.
And who needs histrionics when there's this: "Why don't you love me like you used to?" she sings at 1:36, then follows it with "I still love you like I used to" and listen to how she just plain spits out that last to. Check out, also, how the electric guitar uncorks a bit here, for playful emphasis, only to retreat into the mix thenceforth. Sometimes a little quirkiness can go a long way.
Abshire is from Austin and maybe it's time I mention that she's 17 years old. Apparently she's been singing around town since she was 11. "Exclamation Love" is the title track to her debut CD, released last year on Darla Records. MP3 via SXSW.com. Thanks to Bruce at Some Velvet Blog for the head's up.
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1 comment:
this was a mature treat! thank you.
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