NEW ARTIST TIME!
Now, I really hate to cross-reference or compare artists because frankly it isn’t fair to the artist nor the artist being compared to. But sometimes the comparison is not an accident. After all, what are inspirations for?
On my quest to discover new music, I stumbled across a wonderful little blog called Women Folk, a blog somewhat similar to this in that they feature more unknown female recording artists. While sifting through the archives, I was surprised to see Tori Amos mentioned in the post, so I read on. Here’s what it said: “Over the years, I've been fortunate enough to have people send me musical recommendations from artists I probably wouldn't have been able to hear of otherwise. Michelle Cross was one of these artists. I don't quite remember the year, but I'm guessing it was around the time that her 5-song EP, My Name Is Not Cinderella came out. I remember my friend telling me that if I liked Tori Amos, I would probably like Michelle. And they were right.”
Truth is, they were right. To be honest, when I got my first listen of Michelle Cross’ music I wasn’t sure if I liked it simply because the voice and piano sounded so familiar. Michelle has definitely had a love affair with Boys For Pele because the music from her 1999 EP My Name Is Not Cinderella drips with the delicate power that soaks Pele. Not surprising, though, since Michelle sites Tori as being an influence for her own work. “Bison Song” for instance, plays very well next to “Twinkle” or “Horses”, painting a cinematic picture, string arrangements flowing over her tinkling piano as her vocals flow consistently and melodically, flowing through those final airy notes as though riding on a wave. Another Pele friend is “Last Ode To Rain”, fitting nicely near “Doughnut Song”, or even “Yes, Anastasia” from Under The Pink. The most vocally-familiar Pele of her work has to be “Raven” and “Gun”, songs even complete with those ready, deep-throated, growling vocals that Tori is so famous for in songs like “Professional Widow” and much of her live work.
It’s probably a fact that there are many Tori “clones” around, or at least artists trying to be clones. For what it’s worth, I found it rather refreshing to find an artist who really knew how to capture Tori’s essence in an original song. But despite the ode to Tori, there is something else completely going on in Michelle’s music. One of my favorites, “Men In Blue” tells the story of a woman who covers for her murderous husband. It’s a rather slow and rhythmic song, very much resembling that of a dark church hymn. In the chorus, she over-dubs her lyrics on top of her pounding piano, bass drums and acoustic guitars, her rich voice chanting, “Joey, where's your son and the dead man? / Did you ever think of the one you love?” It’s a truly moving song, one you’ll be playing over and over. In “Cold Light”, her love of classical composer George Winston is very clear. With music resembling the cinematic, stormy feel of Winston’s December, Michelle uses her very Tori-like voice to begin on the softer side, then belting out PJ Harvey-style over her powerful piano arrangements. “Now I stand in the past / My eyes focused on the cracks / By this time you figured out / I'm useless to you now,” she sings somewhat quietly, before letting the passion out with “And you tried to strip me of every shred that's left / In me, I still can't believe / I let you succeed.”
Michelle’s originality shows up in her more up-beat songs. And when I say up-beat, I’m talking about the thudding drums and dirty guitars that open “Primitive”, a groovy rock song that’s undeniably catchy. The vocals flow more melodically in the chorus, then pound right back into the drum beats. This is a song where the PJ Harvey influence is apparent, giving a deeper and darker addition to the vocals. Then there’s the jazzy “Sushi Queen” in Fiona Apple fashion. Michelle does very well with layering the piano and electric guitars together, although the piano tends to get hidden sometimes.
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Make your way to her latest album, Smoke Like Perfume, and it’s easy to see that Michelle is really getting a feel for her own style. She somehow manages in “Big Fish” to layer rhythmic piano arrangements with vocals that sound like they’re straight from an 1980’s pop standard. The song takes a swooping turn from voice and piano to heavy pop-alternative while keeping the vocals, an arrangement that is immediately irresistible. It seems she’s recaptured the great 1990’s alternative sound and brought it into the 20th century. “Whatever it is you want / do you know the reasons why / Whatever it is you are / it’s written on the inside.”
“River Of Seine” is more from the Winter Into Spring of Winston’s collection. But Winston doesn’t add powerful 1-2 drums. Michelle is clearly not afraid to be sonically dense in her songs. I can’t not move my body when I listen to this track. While she is able to sing delicately in much of her work, she’s got chops capable of being heard over such loud music, which is an accomplishment in itself. No crooning girlie girls here. “Oohhh yeesssss.”
But what really sold me to Michelle Cross is her cover of “Come Together”. Undoubtedly my favorite Beatles song and one of my Top Ten ever, I’ve always wanted to do a cover of this song but never knew how I would do it. I would have never thought to use a cello and piano. Michelle flutters her vocals along with the fast-moving cello, clearly capturing the eroticism of the original version. A very cool cover of a very cool song. Tori would be proud.
Go to Michelle Cross’ website to download many other of her songs!
