Andra Suchy – Battle Cat
Not quite Americana but deliciously American. I’m old-school, & to my ears, it was captivating. The voices & guitars work in tandem in a nuclear-powered application of ‘60s girl-group styles. “Boyfriend,” & a cover of the 1963 Ronettes hit “Be My Baby” is superb. The oldies slowed down, reinvented with some darkness & maintained the teens’ angst. Written by Phil Spector with Jeff Barry & Ellie Greenwich, it has become a classic early pop-rock song.
North Dakota’s Andra Suchy (now based in Minneapolis) has lengthened its life expectancy. Andra punks up some of her material but never loses the ‘60s teen desperation, evident in the wonderfully colorful “Call Me Babe. The backup singers sound like they stepped through a time portal of 1963. The melodic pre-Beatles era captured full-bore with “Waitin’ by the mailbox, waitin’ by the phone…”
There are 9 well-articulated tunes on Battle Cat (Drops Jan 30/Independent/28:39) produced by Jeremy Ylvisaker (guitars/bass/keys/percussion) & Andra (vocals/guitars/percussion/organ). Ms. Suchy explores the painful journey from loss to rebuilding from the ground up. She is a creative artist with clever, delicate flourishes born from Ronnie Spector, Darlene Love, Debbie Harry & Cyndi Lauper. Vocally, she has Patti Smith determination with a less angry disposition.
Set aside the rock firmament & focus on her balladry — “Broken” would be impressive. There are slinkier punkier tunes thrown into the mix to keep Ms. Suchy contemporary. Her overall performance temperature is attractive & bracing. Encompassing several genres with “Hard To Believe” & its crunchy guitars, persistent beat & Andra’s vocal coiling like a python, slow, decisive & imaginative. Can you dance to it? Hell, you can do a lot of things to this.
“I can smell you on the shirt I’m wearing…” from “Don’t Say It’s Over” is to my vintage ears romantic as Connie Francis & aggressive as Lesley Gore. If only they could’ve sung such lyrics in the early ‘60s. Slinky guitars, voice dripping echo & backup singers sliding off a Bobby Rydell 45. Quite good. Gets through the pores & under the skin. Like Andra is singing to you from a distance – good effect.
More serious? “Stone Will Roll” – it’s chiseled like 1999’s Italian punk Francesca Chiara (her wonderful “Edera,” “Strano Mondo” & “Te Amo Che Strano”) is intense, retro, dark-filled songs. The same noir effect with well-arranged haunted notes is here with Andra. Originality & creativity with skill.
Highlights – “Boyfriend,” “Be My Baby,” “Call Me Babe,” “Broken,” “Hard To Believe,” “Don’t Say It’s Over” & “Stone Will Roll.”
Musicians – Noah Levy & JT Bates (drums) & Janey Winterbauer (bgv).
CD cover photography & image courtesy of Shelly Mosman. CD @ https://www.facebook.com/andraleesuchy