Maia Sharp
(Crooked Crown)
Album titles can be telling, and indeed, Echo finds singer/songwriter Maia Sharp recasting the classic Brill Building template within the bounds of the new Millennium. Sharp will probably always be referenced to Carol King, thanks to an affable sound that recalls King classics like Tapestry" and the fact that like King, she provides work for hire, counting Cher, Kim Richey, Paul Carrack and Art Garfunkle among her high profile clientele. Comparisons come easily in songs such as "Unbreakable" and "Where Do I Begin," mirroring the gentle yearning and seductive passion that made King's ‘70s standards so quietly compelling.
Still, Sharp's fixation with relationships gone wrong sometimes seems an unyielding obsession, one that casts a cloud on the proceedings overall. Her melodies may be infused with a sweetness and a saunter, but the bitter barbs that infuse "Whole Flat World" ("You were my whole flat world/'Til the day I discovered it was round/You were my favorite movie/'Til they started making them with sound...") and "Why Do You Want To Know" ("Your apology's looping around and around/And the vinyl's wearing out/She's so tired of hearing that record") maintain an unrelenting animosity that's both prickly and pessimistic. It casts a cloud on the album overall, one that finds her berating losers and lovers in a steady stream of rebukes and vitriol. Echoes aside, Sharp's edges create a deep divide.
Standout tracks: "Unbreakable," "Whole Flat World" LEE ZIMMERMAN
