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The May Street Project Shea Seger BMG, 2001 Tracks 1: Last
Time
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Reviewed by Aaron Blanton
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The thing that floors you is the backbeat. Don't get me wrong: the entire album is tight, polished, pleasantly edged and balanced. And, for the first time in a long while, I can report a whole 13-song album without a single track that disappoints. Shea Seger's debut album is fairly perfect in that it's hard to imagine a single aspect where improvement can be recommended: it's a fully rendered whole. But the backbeat? It's on a different planet. Rhythm on The May Street Project is so tight, it squeaks. The 20-year-old singer songwriter has the toothsome blonde good looks that warn of yet another contender in the pop diva wars. With those appearances neatly filed away, The May Street Project is a striking and pleasant surprise. This is a complex and mature album that offers generous nods to both Seger's Texas roots and her Euro coming of age. The artist herself describes her sound as "Mutt dog... bluesy pop with beats." While this encapsulates it pretty well, it doesn't really do justice to the careful weave Seger establishes on The May Street Project. Recorded in London and mixed by Commissioner Gordon, on The May Street Project, Seger's voice puts one in mind of Sheryl Crow meets Tori Amos meets Alanis Morissette. While her vocal instrument has often been compared to that of Olivia Newton-John, Seger brings more edge to her work than Newton John did, even at the height of her career. On "Always," a romantic duet performed with singer/songwriter Ron Sexsmith, Seger trills prettily over Sexsmith's pleasantly nasal voice: You said you'd save me "Always" isn't the only vocal collaboration on May Street. On "Blind Situation," co-written by Seger, Nick Whitecross and Pharrell Williams, D.R.U.G.S. raps handily over the strong 4/4 funk beat. As interesting as these collaborations are, the highlights of the album come on the tracks where Shea rocks alone. "Shatterwall" is a haunting, largely acoustic number that Seger approaches with a gentle innocence. Though the song is delicately rendered, the lyrics are not. Like much of her songwriting, there is a gritty reality here -- perhaps overheard in Quitman, Texas where she grew up? -- that is, at times, refreshingly uncomfortable with Seger's unselfconscious writing and delivery. The empty bottles fly and they will fall This dark and gritty side is revisited on the title track, "May Street," a song about Seger's home town that was reportedly written and recorded in one take. A trippy riff tightly stretched across a repetitive but compelling drum track, partly sung and partly spoken, "May Street," seems a slightly unpleasant homage to a past left far behind. Based on "May Street," Seger couldn't get out of Texas fast enough. I remember the throwing up against the wall I remember the glass. I remember crawling past that glass stained glass. Sometimes Seger's lyrics are more evocative than meaningful, making you think of Tori Amos sans piano and with more serious vocals and rhythm. from "I Can't Lie": It's triple sided tried to ride it It is in the chorus of this song that Seger reaches a Joplinesque resonance, belting out her apparently disconnected lyrics with the full conviction of the rock diva I predict she will become. The May Street Project is a
startling debut. A fully realized and effortless-seeming
blend of Southern soul, hip hop beats, Nashville strings and
a Euro sensibility for the strong pop hook. It's an
irresistible combination. The May Street Project --
and its goddess -- might be difficult to define and
categorize but it makes Seger a strong new contender in the
diva wars. | September 2001 |
The artist herself describes her sound as "Mutt dog... bluesy pop with beats." While this encapsulates it pretty well, it doesn't really do justice to the careful weave Seger establishes on The May Street Project. |
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