Further South
Nisha
Electric Lilly (2012)
Alternative
Before
I even listened to Nisha's Further South, I knew I’d hear smart and sturdy vocals. In the early 1980s she and I shared a few of
the same college theatre courses and often bumped into each other during the
1990s.
So, I’ve had the opportunity to
hear her sing many times throughout our 30-some-odd year history.
After
I listened to the 2012 Electric Lilly release, I was pleasantly surprised to discover
that the one name musician has fully come into her own as a singer-songwriter and written
an impressive collection of musical theatre based songs.
Doo-wop
soul encased in off-Broadway skin, “Never Goin' Back To Memphis” is an
emotional eulogy that best illustrates her ability to weave personal,
character-driven story lines into melodies that naturally generate dramatic lyrics:
She
could always make a house a home/Through troubled waters sing the blues/I guess
that you might say she paid her dues/And through the years she would smile and
sing away the pain/for her it always poured when it would rain
Vivid
imagery is a hallmark of the title track as well. An easy breezy ode to California sunshine and
cross-country road trips, it features surf-pop guitar fills joined with a touch
of Nashville country twang that takes you back to the “Pulp Fiction” soundtrack
and makes going somewhere you've never been a really cool ride.
Nisha's vocal range is in the same vicinity as Etheridge’s and the tune shares the same crescendo-building form and open-arm longing as “Come To My Window”
and “I’m The Only One” (Yes I Am,
Island 1993).
By
far the boldest track on the CD, “Lost One” combines the anthemic roots of
U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday” with the rebellious swagger of Pat Benatar’s “Love
Is A Battlefield”. 3 minutes and 7
seconds into this harsh examination of contemporary homelessness, drummer Bill Ray (Ike Turner), sounds the call. His military
drummer boy hits drive the army of Have Nots out onto the battlefield of social
injustice, with the color-bearer nearby wielding a tattered American
flag.
At
3 minutes and 48 seconds, Peter Bolland’s guitar licks lead the charge into
battle and by the 4 minute mark he declares victory in a way that is so right,
you’ll want to play the entire section over and over again just to feel exactly
how right it is.
Multi-instrumentalist
and project producer Sven-Erik Seaholm’s bass doesn’t anchor the track the way a bass
line normally does. This one consists of
two half sections where the bass blends into the lower tones of the rhythm
guitar part. One half buried bass, plus
one half lower tones equals one whole bass line. It’s an interesting way to split the rhythm
section and works for this particular effort.
The
bass line on “Love’s Angel” speaks loud and clear (think “Black Velvet” by
Alannah Myles). There’s no call and response
on this gritty blues number, but it isn't necessary. The Ohio native's character-driven lyrics place us,
like a fly on the wall, in the bordello with Daddy who, after a long search, finds
his Baby there wearing a black garter
and a bra. Vivid imagery, tailor made
for the theatre.
Nisha is indeed a smart singer and a sturdy vocalist.
No vocal gymnastics or scale runs here.
Just a smoky contralto’s belly-of-the-note approach to phrasing that
gets her point across, the end result of which is an impressive collection of
skillfully crafted songs.
Must Hear: “Love’s Angel”, “So He Won’t Marry You”
CD cover art
courtesy of
Nisha Catron and
Electric Lilly
