Sarah Perrotta - The Well Album Review 2008

This is a 'short style' review, my first for Altsounds.com and a slight departure from my normal track by track examination / ramble through an album. I find that these sort of reviews work if there are several running themes through the songs or if I'm trying to cut down the word count :) Even though the review is quite harsh, I gave the album a generous 6/10 because most of it is good but with frequent annoyances.

Anyway here it is...

America has a great tradition of piano playing singer songwriters. Sarah Perrotta definitely fits this stereotype - earnest and passionate lyrics set to emotional piano-led music with added strings. On paper it has all been done before so the key is to mix things up to generate new and interesting directions. 'The Well' is Perrotta's first solo release and the album is a mixed bag of sounds, themes and ideas, not just across the album but usually within each song.

'The Well' is a wonderfully crafted combination of formula and melting pot. Almost every song has at its core a Coldplay-esque piano or bass loop, like the impressive 'Fishes' and most notably in the excellent 'Steel', like a slowed down 'God Put A Smile Upon Your Face'. Even the lyrics are typically Martin-like: "I can hear the whole world humming and inside my heart is drumming. Has the world gone mad? Is it all so bad?". Perrotta throws everything into her wavering high pitched vocal delivery which is often striking but always breathy. Electric guitars only feature prominently in the occasional well-placed solo but the use of accordion on two songs: 'Out Of Grace' and 'Carry You Home' is misjudged.

But most of 'The Well' lacks distinct melody. 'Fishes' wanders through metaphoric lyrics without sounding flat or monotone, thanks to Perrotta's vocal gymnastics and some neat piano, but ultimately it lacks a tune. The same can be said of the sultry but rambling 'Make Me Real'. And 'The Storm' is ethereally elegant but far too long. That said, the intricate arrangements add depth and beauty to 'Rooftops', for example, and the start of 'Before The Fall'. When it doesn't work, the songs become over-egged cakes. Another huge annoyance is the sporadic use of wordless vocals plaguing many of the early songs particularly at the end of 'Rooftops' and 'Before The Fall'. 'Country' is a well-intentioned attempt at politicising the album, even if the lyrics are horribly obvious, but the old-fashioned mock-upbeat feel that works on the less serious 'Into Bloom' lets it down.

Much of 'The Well' works but there is a lot that doesn't. It is not inconsistent. Far from it; the album is consistently confused, with too many ideas and not enough songs. Opener 'Out Of Grace' jumps around like a caffeine-induced wasp, ruining a great core arrangement. And the good ideas start to run dry in the second half of the album. Both 'Midnight Lullaby' and 'Carry You Home' are so slow and quaint they quickly become agonisingly boring. Sarah Perrotta has been compared to Tori Amos and Fiona Apple which is doing them a disservice. She clearly has talent, even if her voice is an acquired taste, but she needs to think less and focus more.

-- CS (for AltSounds.com - July 2008)

You can find the published article in all its glory here.