“Peace Tonight” blends a country sound with the pop of the sixties. After the opening chaos, what results is something that is much more Dolly Parton and Stevie Nicks than anything. The production is a little on the bare side, but Erin Sax Seymour creates a very catchy song off of the bat. The guitar lines present on the track are nothing special, but what they allow Seymour to do on this track is great. The song is then catapulted into a realm in which individuals that hear the music could conceivably tell a friend or place this on rotation. “Peace Tonight” also is strong in the vocal layering present on a track, where Seymour’s vocals are offset by a lower set of vocals, providing a very Manichean dichotomy of black and white.
All said, the position that Seymour has at the end of the disc is strong, and allows eir to move into “Good Girl” effortlessly. “Good Girl” is a hard track in its position, as the tempo is so slow and morose. For about the first minute or so, there is almost too little in the way of instrumentation to keep the track going. However, Seymour senses that and speeds up the tempo, adding drums and guitars to make this into a much fuller track. Where the situation seemed dire at the beginning of the track, Seymour succeeds soon after. While not having the momentum that ey had at the ending of “Peace Tonight”, Seymour’s luck seems to hold out by the beginning of “Signs of How This Ends”, which gives individuals a different view than the prior two tracks (“Signs of How This Ends” is a live track).
The inclusion of a bluegrass walking bass for “Signs of How This Ends” again catapults Seymour back into a strong position, even if the production muddles the vocals slightly by having the bass in such an audible position. Individuals that are listening to Seymour only get seven shots to really gain an appreciation for eir on “Good Girl”, but the differences presented between each track is more than enough to create a fire burning in any fan of country or smart pop. It may be 2008 or 2009 before Seymour comes out with another album, but chances are good that individuals will wait that long to hear more from this artist. Give this EP a go and see what everyone is saying.
Top Track: The Great Escape
Rating: 6.0/10
Erin Sax Seymour – Good Girl / 2007 Self / 7 Tracks / http://www.erinsaxseymour.com / Reviewed 29 January 2007
[JMcQ]