Album Review

The other day, I received a download link from a rep at CamaFlyArt, a new independent label out of McPherson, KS. The artist is Janelle Shae, a  piano-rock singer/songwriter, hailing from the same small town. The album The Janelle Shae is a debut bid by both the artist and the label. Despite some bugs, the overall recording breaks as a solid start.

The album opens with a progressive instrumental that grows to a thick collage of guitar, piano, synth and drums. On a landscape of synths, the rock ensemble rhythmically drives each song forward. Janelle Shae adds to the din with resonant chords and additive flourishes on the piano. Above it all, Shae navigates the thick texture with her breathy melodies. In this way, I found the ensemble and Shae’s vocal tone to be much like that of the indie group Eisley. Throughout, The Janelle Shae dutifully alternates between deliberate ballads and upbeat rock tunes.

There are a couple facets of this album that I felt like were unique. First, I found it interesting that though this is distinctly a singer/songwriter album, there were plenty of instrumental features, and like “Love’s Crazy Melody” there were moments where members of the band took solos (even the bassist). Second, there’s a diverse spectrum of elements that can be found in the thick textures of this album. In “Who We’re Made For”, there is the subtle addition of some electronic sweeps (maybe record scratches?) that add a neat effect, driving the track forward.

What’s really strong about The Janelle Shae is the songwriting. I have to credit Janelle for creating tunes that feature some interesting chord progressions and catchy hooks. While the lyrics aren’t “Tori-Amos-original”, they are easy to relate to and serve her melodies well. Additionally, the band is comprised of talented musicians that, for the most part, tastefully interpret Janelle’s work.

With that said, I think there are some pretty present hang ups that keep this album from being a “great album”. On the performance of Janelle, I think she has a nice voice, and she made some great choices melodically. However, I’m not sure her vocal facility quite meets her composer’s ear, as her tonality fluctuates at times, missing high notes and passing tones. On the parts of the recording where Shae doubles or harmonizes the melody, this issue is prominent. There are quite a few vocal mistakes that made it to the master; ones that may have easily been corrected with an alternate performance. As a side note: while I give the producer credit for not using any auto-tune, a brush here or there would’ve helped as well.

The recording itself has a lot of elements to reproduce, so surely the demands of engineering the sound of The Janelle Shae were high. For the most part, this task is met effectively. However, there are times in the album when the overall sound is crowded. Akin to this problem is having the instruments bury the vocals, which with a singer who has such a delicate tone – is a tough issue to fight. I’m not sure what the limitations of the recording setup were, but I think a little more targeting and imaging of the vocal track might have helped to really bring out Shae’s sound.

Overall, Janelle’s gift for songwriting and a solid performance by the studio band came together to create a good debut. I’m looking forward to hearing a new set of songs on her second release.

To learn more about this album, go to Janelle’s Bandcamp page.