Maia Sharp – Tomboy
This is multi-instrumentalist Maia Sharp’s 10th solo album in a 30-year career. Filled with her signature poetic & confessional lyricism, this showcase is percussive in nature with found objects & miscellaneous instruments rather than just straight-ahead drums. Following in a path taken by Tom Waits.
The 10 musical faces of Maia’s Tomboy (Drops Sept 12/Crooked Crown/38:09) were produced by Maia (guitars/vocals/keys/piano/soprano & tenor saxes/acoustic & baritone electric guitars/synths/mellotron/accordion/percussion/bgv). Recorded in Nashville, TN, with some tunes that take an adventurous, nostalgic dive into a childhood spent as a tomboy. Fearless at times, & scared at other times.
Ms. Sharp has themes of appreciation, embracing a perspective shift – like when stuck in a traffic jam & frustrated, only to discover it was a fatal accident. Putting all the trivialities in place. For the most part, a few songs attempt to cross-pollinate a progressive rock assortment of musical elements with a standard pop charm. The band adds inspired touches like flugelhorn & trumpet on “Counterintuition.” Quite appealing. The other unorthodox sounds are never applied in a manner where they intrude on the basic melody & the surrounding percussion colors. Nice work.
While the vocals aren’t necessarily folky, bluesy, or rock-inspired, they perform in a tightly configured singer-songwriter aesthetic. “Is That What Love Does” is a bit jazzy with more percussive dalliances & constructed as cleverly as some of the more ambitious compositions & arrangements of Lambert-Hendricks & Ross (“Twisted,” “Centerpiece”).
With “Only Lucky,” the vocal floats within the sensibility of both Emmett Tinley’s Prayer Boat (“Polichinelle” & “Oceanic Feeling”) & the noirish sound of The Blue Nile. A light touch that isn’t quite jazz but a cocktail lounge drift of a vermouth warm voice. It tingles through the expressive music that’s spirited but serene & pensive within its swinging approach.
“Edge of the Weatherline” continues in this realm. Maia adds sax delightfully in a Mark-Almond (“Here Comes The Rain,” “Everybody Needs a Friend”) late-night atmospheric. It purrs along wet boulevards & a bright, blinking light scenario. The most mainstream tunes are “Asking For a Friend” & “A Fool In Love Again.” They linger long after they’re played. What’s consistent is the quality of Maia’s original musical approach & its arrangements. “Any Other Way” has a lite Euro touch — wonderfully effective.
Highlights: “Tomboy,” “Counterintuition,” “Is That What Love Does,” “Only Lucky,” “Edge of the Weatherline,” “Asking For a Friend,” “A Fool In Love Again,” & “Any Other Way.”
Musicians: Eric Darken (percussion), Terry Clark & Matthew Perryman Jones (vocals), Teddie Collinz (beatbox), Will Honaker (bass/rubber bridge acoustic/mellotron), Rob McGaha (flugelhorn/trumpet), Sarah Holbrook (violins/bgv), Vanessa Freebairn-Smith (cellos), Shannon LaBrie (pianos/bgv), Maia’s Grammy-winning father Randy Sharp (steel guitar/electric & acoustic 12 string guitars), Joshua Grange (electric guitar), The Only Luckies Backyard Choir, May Eriewine, Garrison Starr, Fancy Hagood & Emily West (bgv).
Color image courtesy of Maia’s website. CD @ Apple & Amazon + https://www.maiasharp.com/
