Speaking of unique female artists with quirky rythmns and good singing voices---
Emily Haines is a chip off the old block--her father Paul Haines (1932-2003) was a poet-songwriter-crtic for the jazz and progressive rock scene in Paris New York, New Delhi (where Emily was born), and New Mexico until he moved to Canada, and most famously wrote the libretto for Carla Bley's sprawling 1971 meisterpiece Escalator Under the Hill. Emily came up through the Toronto club scene fronting a band called Metric. I just purchased an EP yesterday called What is Free To a Good Home? and I liked it enough to jump at a chance to see her live if she comes through town again. Her lyrics are just a little mysterious without being opaque; her voice is like a cool breeze in November; and her piano self-accompaniment is sparing and competent. A good example is "The Bank," in which she sings of how so many work so hard just to be able to fill up their time with empty pursuits:
Emily Haines is a chip off the old block--her father Paul Haines (1932-2003) was a poet-songwriter-crtic for the jazz and progressive rock scene in Paris New York, New Delhi (where Emily was born), and New Mexico until he moved to Canada, and most famously wrote the libretto for Carla Bley's sprawling 1971 meisterpiece Escalator Under the Hill. Emily came up through the Toronto club scene fronting a band called Metric. I just purchased an EP yesterday called What is Free To a Good Home? and I liked it enough to jump at a chance to see her live if she comes through town again. Her lyrics are just a little mysterious without being opaque; her voice is like a cool breeze in November; and her piano self-accompaniment is sparing and competent. A good example is "The Bank," in which she sings of how so many work so hard just to be able to fill up their time with empty pursuits:
Whatever it is spit it into a bottle and sell it to me/I’m looking to buy freedom from my sobriety/Just like Huey Lewis/I need a new drug/I need a new drink/I need a new drug that does what it should/So take me to the bank/Take me to the bar/Can you take me to the hot spot?/This is what we worked so hard to afford /but...Take me to the bank/Can you take me to the bar?/Can you take me to the hot spot?/This is what we worked so hard to afford/ but how I wanna hide/The next time you visit me here/How about coming out to my place/We can sit on the floor and play my brother’s records/We can sit on the grownup bed/Couple with the coin/Lighting up to join the coping crowd/My big brother said to stay unsatisfied/Never work a day to pay off your desire/Couple with the coin/Lighting up to join the coping crowd
My only concern is about whether Haines has enough variety in her compositional and stylistic repertoire to sustain a career. Perhaps she and her new band, The Soft Skeleton, have answered that question already. They have just released a full-length album, Knives Don't Have Your Back. I haven't heard it yet, but I recommend checking it out, starting with the band's website. The album is a compendium of songs reflecting on episodes in her life from the past decade--mourning the loss of her father, the early days of Metric and its growing commercial success, and the dilemmas of artistry. Not coincidentally, the album design matches that of Escalator Over the Hill.
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