It finally arrived ! At the end of October, the postman left in my PO box a small pack from Miss Mieka Pauley. Driving the kids home from school, we were already singing out loud ‘Run, Run, far beneath the sun, Elijah Drop your gun‘ : the precious pack attracted all the kid’s attention, it moved from hands to hands … ‘Papa il est signé ! exclaimed Morgane – I have to confess that I was more than proud, like a young fan ! We were all eagerly awaiting to insert the cd in the computer drive…
Two weeks later, ‘Elijah drop your gun’ is at the top of my autumn playlist : all tracks rated from 5 stars – All The Same Mistakes and Run – to 3 ! I was under Mieka’s charm while discovering her website, streaming the available samples and buying her first album and EPs. Now I am totally addicted.
Mieka’s style is so personal that it’s a risky challenge to draw comparisons even if a couple tracks such as ‘Fate Day by Day’, ‘Run’, or ‘Left to God’ shared the same soulful folk vein as a “Ray LaMontagne” has previously explored in the “Trouble” album… 7 years after her first release, changes are things such as piano, cello, drums, bass and percussions. Mieka’s songwriting has gained in maturity without loosing an ounce of sincerity. ‘Devil’s got my secret’, ‘Be like a Man’ or ’9:45′ are simply great rock composition. The album intro song : ‘All The Same Mistakes’ is a perfect summary for her new release both spellbinding and rocking !
Hope I have found enough arguments for convincing you. Both your ears and her voice deserve more than this simple audio-streaming !
Artist : Mieka Pauley
Buy : Elijah Drop Your Gun
Great! Her’s my reviews from Amazon.com;
“Appropriate female artistry?” What the heck is that supposed to mean?! I have to admit to titling the review to hopefully drag in a few readers so you’ll realize that the reviews slamming this release are WAY out of line.
If you don’t like mellow – don’t buy the CD, but don’t say it’s bad. If you don’t like female artists – don’t buy the CD, but don’t say it’s bad. If you can’t tolerate a voice different from the ‘cut ‘n’ paste’ formulaic releases being pumped out and stuffed down the throats of the music-buying public – don’t buy the CD, but don’t say it’s bad.
The music is not what I expected it to be, and I’m not exactly sure how to describe it. But, since I talk a lot, I’ll give it a try. It’s mellow much of the time, but it has an edge at the same time. The breathiness that is complained about in other reviews IS a feature of the music. It’s a feature of the vocalist. It’s a feature that doesn’t distract or annoy the listener. Rather it puts an emphasis on certain points in a way other than grabbing you by the ear-hairs and yanking you to the lyric. Not only is it NOT annoying. I think it’s very effective and quite listenable.
Of the 11 songs on the CD, I really don’t think there’s a dog among them. If you read the other reviews and check the songs that the writers specifically name, there’s quite a variety. One guy says ‘Draped In Blue’ is the only song worth listening to. Another says ‘Secret’ is the best cut. Yet another says it’s ‘All The Same Mistakes.’
What that should help you understand is that there’s definitely something for everyone who enjoys this genre. Generally speaking, this isn’t the type of music I listen to. When I saw the title I thought I had to give it a listen. Now that I’ve listened, I’m very glad I did, and I’ve recommended the release to several friends – many of whom are involved in music to some degree. Not one comment from any of them saying the recording is amaturish.
What some others have damned here is actually a very effective way of phrasing. Just because you haven’t heard it before doesn’t mean it’s not valid. If anything else, it should give her MORE credit for originality.
The songs are very good, and I honestly don’t know how to classify them. It’s definitely on the mellow side, but I caught myself tapping my feet to several of the cuts. There are also a couple of instances where the lyrics gave me chills, they were so effective and unexpected.
As a generality, I like female artists. That (along with the title that caught my attention) is what made me listen to this in the first place. It’s moved quickly from being just the newest CD in my collection to being one of the most listened-to in my collection. Yeah, that’ll probably change over time, but there are some monster releases that I couldn’t wait to add to my collection. I bought them, listened to them once or twice, then filed them away until… Whenever.
In case a recommendation from me matters as far as what I think the best song on the CD is, I’m not sure I could pin just one down. Of the 11, I think that ‘Devil’s Got My Secret’ has to be one of the best songs here. ‘Be Like The Man’ and ‘Bravely’ are also very, very good songs.
But as I said at the outset, the whole thing is good. If you don’t like rock, don’t buy it. If you don’t like country, don’t buy it. If you don’t like music with an occasional folk-rock shadow, female artists, catchy lyrics, intensely interesting lyrics, and a very qualified backing band, don’t buy it.
However, if you like something other than the cookie-cutter stuff that so often winds up on the shelves of music stores (and also in all of the collections of music lovers), grab this one. I wasn’t surprised that I liked it. I AM surprised at how much I like it!
wow… very informative post. Thank you.