Sarah blasko the overture1/5/2023 ![]() ![]() The production refuses to allow the listener to deal adequately with the issues discussed in the songs. People love aloof, detached singing because it reminds them of the ambiguity and ambivalence of human existence, and they love soaring choruses and melodies precisely when they don’t want to be reminded. The production constantly urges the songs to fly, while the music and vocal occasionally seem more comfortable on the ground. Unfortunately, all of this production has a rather unhappy marriage with Blasko’s deep lyrics and aloof singing. The Overture and the Underscore, with its complicated mixes of drum loops, acoustic guitars, ambient noises and soaring strings, offers a tour-de-force of technical expertise. However, the best of music is great because, and not in spite, of its quirks. ![]() Popular music convention suggests that one should write music and arrange production such that it accentuates strengths, and downplays weakness. On paper, this song sounds perfect, but it, like so many songs on this album, ends up being less than the sum of its parts. Throughout the song, electronic accents hover in the background, occasionally poking forward in the mix, lending strength to the vocal at key points. The music gradually builds to a soaring chorus which all but demands attention. “Always Worth It” combines an adeptly restrained use of strings with a jangling guitar rhythm driven by firm pulsing drums. This is most obvious on “Always Worth It,” the best song on the album, and the best example of the power and limitations of Blasko’s music. For the most part, the instruments and vocals mix together seamlessly, but each song ends leaving the listener unfulfilled. The lyrics are smartly written, the melodies, while not always immediate, are generally complex and rewarding, and the choice of instrumentation is diverse and clever. We are led on a journey through a sea of contemplative evaluations of relationships, sensitive treatments of past pain, and confident assertions of future strength. Thematically speaking, the songs are typical female singer-songwriter fare. ![]() Not because her voice is particularly powerful or beautiful in a classical sense, but because many of the production and songwriting decisions on the album seem predicated on shielding her voice from criticism, often at the expense of honesty and emotional power. Understanding the voice of Sarah Blasko is crucial to understanding her album, The Overture and the Underscore. This would give you an adequate approximation of Sarah Blasko’s voice: slightly grainy, slightly frail, slightly haunting, and usually a little detached. Imagine if you took Macy Gray and Martina Topley-Bird, threw them in a blender, plugged that blender into a speaker, and jammed the puree button. ![]()
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