We bristle at Jeff Buckley comparisons as much as the next Grace obsessed super fan, but Shara Worden’s debut full length as My Brightest Diamond employs strings, dark dramatics, and full-blown arias to create a sound that’s true to Jeff’s spirit, if not his signature sound. We just saw Shara’s multi-instrumental abilities on display as part of Sufjan’s band of butterflies at that ACL taping and can’t wait to check her set opening for Soof (sans wings) at Town Hall next week.
This cut sees Shara flexing her University of North Texas-honed vocal chops over bowed-then-pizzicato violins and a “Grace”-inspired ride out:
Looks like she’s made a fan of Mr. Meloy, too, ’cause he recently told Pitchfork that My Brightest Diamond was his favorite new artist, adding that “Workhorses” is “so creepy and cool, and so Kate Bush.” Read the rest of Colin’s list of favorites here, and take a listen to see how well he knows his Kate Bush:
In July, LaBlogatheque took Shara to Prospect Park and coaxed the opera singer out of her on a gorgeous, waterside take on Edith Piaf’s “Hymne A L’Amour.” Guess who else sang that song? Check out Live From The Bataclan for Buckley’s medley of “Hymne” and “Je N’en Connais Pas La Fin.”
If you haven’t yet, be sure to get your ears on Bring Me The Workhorse, full album stream compliments of Asthmatic Kitty. And if this whole music thing doesn’t work out for her, Shara can always fall back on her rollerblading skills.
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Sigh. My Brightest Diamond jumps the shark before she had a chance.
she be soooo good.
she reminds me very much of shannon wright
The album is so dry…Its so generically experimental…i didn’t like it at all
Sigh. I remember when “jumped the shark” didn’t mean “released an album.” Poor, deluded artist hoping to connect with an audience.
Soon you’ll be called a sell-out just for learning to play an instrument. Or were you trying to be a troll? I can never tell.
i am supposed to like it for reasons i could never mention but i’m totally w/anthony on this. it’s really safe, boring, not for me at all. i want danger in my music. daring beauty. this seems real contrived and not totally legit.
i really really like it. Safe or not, this album is just beautiful.
It’s not breaking a ton of new ground, musically or lyrically, but she’s got a hell of a voice, a good sense of dynamics, and the strings are nicely done. If she’s still covering the same ground on her second or third album, I’ll be bored, but it’s a promising debut.
Sounds like Portishead.
i don’t feel the kate bush vibe……but i like.
My favorite discovery of this year. Yes, it may come on as a Bjork/PJ Harvey pastiche on first listen, but stick around. This one’ll sneak up on you. Top 10 of ’06 right now.
My Brightest Diamond Yahoo Group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mybrightestdiamond/