The poppier Margot Macdonald gets the better she is, with an ear for melody anybody would envy, and a soaring beautiful voice, she came from DC to CMJ and she saw and she conquered I claim and I am not alone: NPR gave the excellent singer songwriter and considered there was 1400 acts to choose from, that was not unlike winning the lottery.
If you didn’t make it to the CMJ show I recommend you get to Rockwood 2 on Monday November 4th, 2013. I’ve been listening to the new album, Canvas, which will be released on November 5th, and it is a wonderful record: intense, lovely, looptastic, with melodies to kill for and while there is a reason why “Speed Of Sound” is the single. the song, is, simply, a smashing singalong, filled with love and hope, there is a wonderful consistency to the tracks here.
I am not convinced this is MacDonald’s masterpiece but I haven’t heard it enough to really make that call. Once you get past the album bookends “Speed Of Love” and Massive Attack’s “Teardrops” and once you get past her failure to include the stupendous “Book Of Love”, the rest of the songs don’t reach these three’s heights, but they get close and they move it further from its center and into the world of rock and roll.
I think what makes it a little difficult is the loops, it takes a little while to hear the songs. “Beautiful Stranger” sounds like Elton John with a soaring bridge, “Someday Monday” sounds like Paul Simon meets the Bangles, the two song priors are pretty good as well, “Feel Free” is psychedelic folk and the second track on the album “Straight Talk” is among the best songs on the album, a crazy quilt work pop rocker with great backing voices on the loop. The doo wop “Bubble Wrapped Heart” is so lovely it is the fourth on the album you could consider a must hear.
1. Book Of Love
2. Speed Of Sound
3. Straight Talk
4. Beautiful Stranger
5. Bubble Wrapped Heart
Right now, I think Canvas is very good but not great, the inclusion of “Book Of Love” might have tipped it to great. You should definitely hear it. Like definitely. Maybe it is great…
For sure, Margot should bring it big time to Rockwood 2. This will be her album release party