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CD: "Skies Burning Red"

A worthy follow-up to her outstanding debut, Jen Cass's Skies Burning Red should solidify her reputation as a singer and songwriter of uncommon talent and skill.

The playful Russian-folk flavor of the earlier album (Brave Enough to Say) has given way on the new CD to more standard guitar- and piano-driven pop-rock arrangments, but Cass's trademark strengths remain: the legato vocals gliding from buttery-soft to fiery; the three-chord simplicity; the gentle octave jumps from verse to chorus; and most of all the vivid Mellencampian storytelling.

Cass's vignettes return repeatedly to the the twin themes of loss and salvation: loss of romantic love or the chance for it, and salvation promised - but usually not delivered - by a figure (invariably male) of admiration or desire.

The CD opens with "Main Attraction," a (for Cass) uncharacteristically upbeat variation on the second of her great themes. An apparent suicide-jumper reveals himself as an angel who by his mere appearance saves the "blind and faithless" town below. By itself this might seem hokey, but in the context of the songs of loss and disappointment that follow, it ends up making a poignant case that only divine intervention can save anybody.

"A Kind of Compromise" is a beautiful dirge about a man prone to "prophecy" who runs all over North America fleeing the threat of committed love.

    And now I watch you and you push each love away
    Would it be so bad if someone stayed and loved you back?

"Pirate," about abstracted lovers who "waded too deep," has the feel of an old English ballad, though it isn't really a story song. Cass's lyrics here rise to the level of poetry:

    You be the pirate and I'll be the sea
    I'll roll and I'll reel as you sail over me
    And although I look calm I am raging inside
    The others before you have died.

A daughter who "married young, grew up too fast/Left home too soon, thought love would last" addresses "Trouble" to her mother, whose love couldn't prevent history from repeating itself. The replay of the verses in the background of the final chorus is a nice touch. The abandoned lover of "Vagabond Heart" insists (unconvincingly) that her ex-flame still pines for her even as, having fled her all the way to Mexico, he marries someone else.

The CD's only false note is "The Boy Who Would Be Man," a cliched tale of a violent inner-city neighborhood where a youthful gangster's "potential goes to waste." It doesn't ring true the way the more personal tales of abandoned or disappointed women do. Specificity and inside-out perspective give them, in that common paradox of good art, more universality.

Besides the opening track, the fluffy "Madeleine" is the only song with a positive message: here it's not a divinity but a child who provides hope. The rest of the songs continue the chronicle of disappointment. But in spite of the mostly downbeat subject matter, the album is musically buoyant. One of the things that makes songs so important to us is their ability to elevate, beautify, and thereby temper our own pain. Skies Burning Red succeeds grandly in this regard thanks to Cass's fine songwriting and sparkling vocals. The warm, straight-ahead production by John Jennings suits the material perfectly, as do the contributions from the musicians, with especially crystalline piano work by Jon Carroll.

Artist website: Jen Cass

CD: "Transparent"

Elisa Peimer has stuck by her muse and finally produced a CD that sounds as good as her talent deserves. Knowing what kind of music she wants to master - shimmering, straight-ahead pop-rock, heavy on the pop - and devoting all her energy to it has paid off.

Here and there the gears of formula can be heard grinding, but as a rule the songs succeed on their own merits, with strong hooks and well-crafted lyrics, even as they adhere to pop conventions. "Take the Long Road" and "Long Way To Heaven" could be hits for any pop diva. "Angel of the Blues," the only minor-key ballad on the album, is a memorable wail of disappointed love, while "Previous Engagement" is a John Hiatt-esque two-minute speed-rocker that makes a nice break.

If I had to pick one standout on this album full of good songs, it would be "Turning Circles" (a nice video of which is included on this enhanced CD). It's a gorgeous song in which, without undue histrionics, Peimer's crystal-clear voice wrings every drop of pathos from haunting verses and a soaring chorus.

    Don't come near me I'm contagious
    Though heaven knows just what I've got
    And though it hasn't worked in ages
    It's still worth giving it a shot

    Am I getting anywhere
    Turning circles in the air

"End of the Road" is a Cindy Lauper-esque pop bauble. "When You Go" has a simple chorus where one unexpected chord change makes something just new enough out of a time-worn musical convention. "Jerusalem," a highlight of Peimer's live shows, provides a catchy, sophisticated epilogue. Transparent as a whole makes clear that Peimer's creative imagination remains fertile as ever; she continues to prove herself a true master of songcraft.

Meanwhile Elisa Peimer the singer is putting the songs across with spirit and skill. Her tone is full-throated, steady and, at its best, beautiful. But in spite of her growth as a singer, her voice has limitations, and the CD's one weakness is that at times during the higher-energy songs, the singer's upper register isn't up to the music's emotional peaks. Still, it's more than sufficient to make this CD a success on all levels. Not everyone has to be a diva, anyway. Transparent has plenty else going for it.

Artist website: Elisa Peimer

CD: "Frost as Desired"

An Ectophile's delight with generous touches of Beatle-psychedelia and dashes of Rickie Lee Jones and Iris Dement, Frost as Desired is one of the happiest albums I've heard in some time. In a musical landscape dominated by whiny men who mope better than they write and vapid girls who dance better than they sing, a tremendously talented multi-instrumentalist like Erin Hill is a burst of sunshine.

Making the most of her modest but sure and expressive voice, Hill jazzes up her soft-rock arrangements with strings, keyboards, sax, harp (she's a professional harpist as well as a singer-songwriter) and other instruments besides the usual rock complement.

The production sets a consistent mood so it's possible to enjoy the album straight through, a remarkable achievement given the state of pop music these days. Still, the songs are so good that it's worth noting some highlights:

Appropriately, one of the catchiest tunes is the opener, "My Unbalance," whose "good little angel" protagonist is finally grabbing the reins of the horse-and-buggy of love. "Satellite" is another fine paean to the lighter side of romance (i.e. casual sex). But Hill isn't all fancy-free. "Windfall," scored for harp and strings, is a quiet pearl of a love song:

    I'm going about my days -
    the grocery, the train -
    so calmly and easily
    So shockingly smooth
    This monumental thing has been so quiet

    Can this be love?
    I didn't know
    I thought that hard was the way
    It's supposed to go

Hill's artful use of wordplay and sprung rhythm give her well-structured lyrics a stream-of-consciousness flair. "Crazy" is one good example; another is the delightfully creepy "Lolita (Lo and Behold)," from which it's worth quoting an entire verse:

    I want to
    eat you whole
    no, no, one eyelash
    at a time
    and still too fast -
    as many cells as
    stones of
    sand in
    Our Glass Lake
    my Lamb, I pray
    for you to break

Hill's voice soars majestically on the sweet (but not syrupy) love song "No Other You." "The Eighth Sea," an ode to the life of a free spirit, sounds like The Pretenders; then Hill suddenly turns into Tori Amos channelling Ringo Starr in "Waking Up." I could go on; this CD is a grab bag of rich musical fun, with a colorful vibe and sense of humor that are well summed up in the closing song, "Favorite Girl":

    Oh, how I love me
    I am everything to me -
    the world in color,
    I'm like no other...
    I'm just what I've always wanted.

Erin Hill could be what a lot of people always wanted.

Artist website: Erin Hill