Leah Callahan
Even Sleepers
Baraca Records

Leah Callahan's solo debut is brief, but marvellous. She sings her melancholy songs in a wistful, articulate way. "The Sadness I Admire" might be a lost Astrud Gilberto song from the sixties.

Callhan sounds just as sweet and effortlessly cool as Gilberto did. The faintly menacing "The Red Eye" is half nursery rhyme, half demented Tom Waitsian polka. "Vampire Heart" is a jazzy, minimalistic treat. Callahan imbues the lyric with all the sadness her expressive voice can convey.

"Shocking Pink" is a great song. Callahan sings "I wish I could be drunk all the time. I don't know for sure what those chemicals do to my brain but I'm sure feeling fine". The music to the song is simple but it suits the woozy feeling of the words. Like this album the song is short and unbearably poignant.

Copyright © 2004 Anna Maria Stjärnell