Sarah Slean

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
If there's a through-line connecting Laura Nyro, Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, and Tori Amos, Sarah Slean may well be its next stop. This seven-song sampler introduces the Canadian artist to south-of-the-border audiences with a selection of tracks from her indie releases as well as her Atlantic debut. As such, it suggests an artist in transition: If earlier tracks like "High" and "Me and Jerome" sit a bit too comfortably in Amos's shadow, new tracks "Book Smart, Street Stupid" and a rerecorded "Eliot" find her adopting a cabaret-style vibrato of near-Edith Piaf proportions. But there's no denying the latter track's killer chorus or Slean's glorious multitracked vocals and piano work on the ethereal "John the 23rd." Uneven though it may be, Sarah Slean's U.S. debut shows she has the vocal, piano, and songwriting skills to reach well beyond her cult following. --Bill Forman

Sarah Slean, Music, Sarah Slean, Classical, Orchestral & Symphonic, Popular Music, Rock/Pop
Night Bugs
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • my favourite singer
  • An impulse buy gone VERY right
  • i know where the night bugs go
  • It would be a crime to compare Sarah
  • Night Bugs
Night Bugs
Sarah Slean
Manufacturer: Wea/Warner
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
Adult AlternativeAdult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:
  1. Day One
  2. The Best of Morrissey

ASIN: B000065LZS
Release Date: 2007-01-08

Tracks:

  1. Eliot
  2. Weight
  3. Duncan
  4. St. Francis
  5. Drastic Measures
  6. Book Smart, Street Stupid
  7. Dark Room
  8. Sweet Ones
  9. Me, I'm a Thief
  10. My Invitation
  11. Bank Accounts

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars my favourite singer.......2004-06-26

I first heard sarah slean sing on the vicki gabereau show in 2001 and ever since, i've been hooked, she's easily my favourite female singer. I also admire her amazing talent; her voice and her arranging skills and the sheer artistry of this album. An amazing cd, you cannot be disappointed with her jazzy yet softly refined almost pop-sounding music. An amazing record!

5 out of 5 stars An impulse buy gone VERY right.......2004-03-26

I nabbed this two summers ago, and even after repeated, repeated listenings I haven't stopped enjoying it. By turns whimsical and orchestral, it's just great to get lost in. There's something genuinely charming about Sarah Slean's music (on this album anyway, since it's all I have) -- kind of old-fashioned, kind of waifish, kind of warbly, and eminently singable. Not exactly your typical pop music, not exactly classical...somewhere in the middle. And it WILL get your toes tapping at more than one point.

5 out of 5 stars i know where the night bugs go.......2003-12-01

In Canada lately another musical Sarah has been making a name for herself. Sarah Slean. Through an independently released EP, Universe, and full-length CD, Blue Parade, Slean was able to tour the Great White North gaining fans along the way of her Tori-esque piano-playing and Fiona-flavored alto. Trying to capitalize on the featuring of her songs on a couple Fox TV shows ("Sweet Ones" on Mystery in Small Town X and Party of Five), movie placement ("Weight" in Joy Ride) and her prominence in several WB shows ("My Invitation" on Dawson's Creek, "Blue Parade" on Felicity, and again "Weight" on Smallville) a major label signing with Atlantic soon followed and lead to the release of an eponymous EP featuring three songs from the then-forthcoming Night Bugs, and two apiece from her previous releases. The stellar Night Bugs finally saw a Canadian release the following year in 2002, to modest critical acclaim and mild commercial success, but distribution around the rest of the world has yet to be seen (sorry folks...this one's only going to be available as an import).

With Night Bugs, Slean reveals a fuller, more-realized sound than on her previous indie releases. To capitalize on this expanded sound, she re-recorded three of her earlier tracks, disc openers "Eliot" and "Weight," and "My Invitation" to add with her slew of new songs. Producer Hawksley Workman (whose virtues I've extolled on numerous occasions) provides a perfect collaborator for Slean as his own over-the-top brand of Tin Pan Alley and musical revue stylings merge well with her sentiment and flavorings. "Eliot" opens with a simple piano melody introducing the listener to Slean's dramatic cabaret and piano bar stylings before building to a crescendo with its chorus. "Weight" explodes with a memorable piano line filtered to sound a bit like a drum beat and her singing, "What did I give to you / What did you give to me / A nothing-trail of silences that warp in the rain." The masterpiece for me on Night Bugs however is "Duncan," perhaps her most theatrically inclined song. "Duncan" is an epic of a song comparing love and war as the timpani and xylophone built to its chorus of "Oh you fool you fool / Don't give in to fate / If this is all we've got to fight for / Rage, my darling rage! / Duncan good for you / Sad but on your way / Well the army never turned his crank / But love sure made him brave." and finally concluding with the verse, "This is holy war! / We must fight and fight again / And go a thousand times for the sake of love / But never once in vain." Maybe I'm a sucker but the notion of love being the only thing to fight for and if you're gonna go down then go down raging, gets me every time. Despite her inclination towards theatrics, Slean is not afraid to keep it simple as she does on "St. Francis" and "My Invitation." Similarly, with her favoritism towards melancholy she knows how to keep things Waits-ical on "Drastic Measures," "Book Smart, Street Stupid," and "Me, I'm A Thief." The instrumental string-based "Dark Ones" is equally tonal in its mood and cinematic grandeur contrasting the higher register of a violin with the lower parts of a cello and plucked double bass. The jaunty "Sweet Ones" and "Bank Accounts," detailing the lives of Toronto's nouveau-riche, are two tracks that get me pounding on my piano everytime I hear them. (She's even wry enough to sell "Sweet Ones" undies as part of her merch. "Come over to the sweet ones baby ... If I could have just one piece of that I'd be sold.") Slean wraps her husky alto dripping with colorful sorrow around her poetic lyrics conjuring images of streetlamp-lit trees in midnight parks making Night Bugs an instant classic for fans of literate singer/songwriter piano-based confessional art-pop.

5 out of 5 stars It would be a crime to compare Sarah.......2003-04-08

While I suppose it would be easier to state that Sarah Slean's opus is comparable with the works of other artists, I feel it would be doing her injustice. Her compositions are extremely well crafted and her melodies are beautiful, somber, jazzy, and immaculate. Fragile, yet filled with pride, Sarah sings her "stories" with wonder and conviction. It boggles the mind how she hasn't been more widely received considering Night Bugs the recording is only matched by her live performances. If you really want something where you don't have to hit the skip button on your CD player, you'd be very pleased with Night Bugs. Granted her style of music may not be for everyone, but if you find yourself listening to musicians such as Radiohead, Rufus Wainwright, Elton John, Tori Amos and/or Lenny Kravits, you'll definitely fall in love with Ms. Sarah Slean.

I'd give a rating for each song on Night Bugs, but they'd all be 5 out of 5. Instead, I'll list my favourite songs (in order they appear):

Eliot (a light, catchy, jazzy and mellow tune)
Weight (an up-tempo song, most Radiohead like on the album)
Duncan (One of the best melodies on the album, very catchy)
St. Frances (extremely somber and emotional tune, extremely beautiful)
Drastic Measures (One of my favourites, will get your toes tapping)
Book Smart, Street Stupid (great study song for anyone in University)
Dark Room (a very pretty instrument composition, good intro to the next song)
Sweet Ones (the best song I've heard in quite a while, definitely the catchiest tune on the record)
Me, I'm a Thief (a heavy and dark song that portrays Sarah's amazing ability to establish an atmosphere)
My Invitation (the "lullaby" of the record; a song that has been wonderfully crafted).
Bank Accounts (the closest you'll hear Sarah being overtly political, however, one of the best upbeat songs on the album).

I've just realized that I've reviewed every song on the album, but really, it's hard to pick favourite with an album with this. It's a shame some other Canadian female artists are garnering the attention that they do while the true musical talent Canada has to offer still doesn't have the broad audience she deserves. Her next album (which if it's anything like Night Bugs) should propel her to major stardom. I strong encourage you to make this the next album you buy!!! Thank you

5 out of 5 stars Night Bugs.......2003-02-27

Absolutely amazing. I'm a fan of Sarah Harmer, and other Canadian artists so that's how I was introduced to Sarah Slean. This CD, which I bought impulsively last summer, has become my absolute favorite. Drastic as it may sound, Slean rivals only the great Radiohead in creativity and originality. It is a must for anyone who is sick of generic radio pop music. Creativity unleashed!
Sarah Slean
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • FAB!
  • Rediscover that feeling
  • The Missing Link Between Sarah, Fiona, and Tori...
  • A good place to start.
  • PHENOMENAL
Sarah Slean
Sarah Slean
Manufacturer: Wea International
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
Pop RockPop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Adult AlternativeAdult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music
Alternative RockAlternative Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ClassicalClassical | Imports | Stores | Music
RockRock | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:
  1. Day One
  2. Public
  3. Wake
  4. Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt
  5. Stuff

ASIN: B00005MK3S
Release Date: 2007-01-08

Tracks:

  1. Eliot
  2. Book Smart, Street Stupid
  3. Sweet Ones
  4. High
  5. Twin Moon
  6. Me & Jerome
  7. John The 23RD

Amazon.com

If there's a through-line connecting Laura Nyro, Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, and Tori Amos, Sarah Slean may well be its next stop. This seven-song sampler introduces the Canadian artist to south-of-the-border audiences with a selection of tracks from her indie releases as well as her Atlantic debut. As such, it suggests an artist in transition: If earlier tracks like "High" and "Me and Jerome" sit a bit too comfortably in Amos's shadow, new tracks "Book Smart, Street Stupid" and a rerecorded "Eliot" find her adopting a cabaret-style vibrato of near-Edith Piaf proportions. But there's no denying the latter track's killer chorus or Slean's glorious multitracked vocals and piano work on the ethereal "John the 23rd." Uneven though it may be, Sarah Slean's U.S. debut shows she has the vocal, piano, and songwriting skills to reach well beyond her cult following. --Bill Forman

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars FAB!.......2004-09-16

It's a shame Sarah Slean's releases are very hard to get outside of Canada. This woman has many talents, and should get credit for that outside of her homeland. She writes very clever and interesting lyrics, is an amazing piano player, has a sixth sense for catchy and strong melodies, and is also blessed with a gorgeous voice. Though this release is an interesting introduction to her music (it introduced be to her as well), after hearing it, you will only want more, MORE! I recommend getting her albums in order of release, so Universe first, followed by Blue Parade, Night Bugs and Day One. This EP however, only has songs from the first three. Also: if you have the chance to see and hear her live, grab it! She's a fantastic live performer, and aside from that also a very nice person. ;)

5 out of 5 stars Rediscover that feeling.......2004-04-03

Remember when you heard Little Earthquakes for the first time?

Sarah Slean's sound is only somewhat like Tori's, but some of the magic will be the there as she truly is a beautiful artist.

4 out of 5 stars The Missing Link Between Sarah, Fiona, and Tori..........2003-12-03

Like an off-broadway Sarah McLachlan, a drunken poet Fiona Apple, or little-orphan-Annie via Tori Amos... the comparisons to the other women of piano-rock are inevitable. On her debut American EP, a collection of both old and new material, Sarah Slean proves that the comparisons are warranted only because she is otherwise entirely indescribable.

Opener "Eliot" draws all of the above comparisons all by itself, combining a ragtimish upright-piano with Slean's unique voice for a wonderful spectrum of quiet verses and a crescendoing chorus. On "Book Smart Street Stupid" Sarah's voice quavers under its own weight, arresting in its utter fragility as it stays just ahead of the beat and a swaggering brass section in this theatrical turn of narrative songwriting.

"Sweet Ones" is the high point of her previously unreleased material, combining what would be an otherwise ethereal composition with a stomping monster beat -- it sounds like any of the aforementioned women covering David Bowie's "Oh You Pretty Things" for the benefit of a rowdy pub just a few blocks of Broadway. (Be careful, some earlier copies of the disc leave this gem off in favor of another song!)

"High" and "Twin Moon" draw from Sarah's last full length release Blue Parade, and they are less eccentrically realized than her newer material. "High" combines a circling Amos-like piano line with McLachlan's older style of ominous production. "Me & Jerome" and "John The 23rd" are even older, and even in their precociously intricate bare piano playing and alternatingly drawled and harmonious vocals they clearly exemplify all of the qualities that Slean has come to display on her newer efforts; they lack only the arrangements to back them up.

Sarah Slean would be a more captivating listen in the opposite order -- showing the clear progression of what could be a powerhouse new female pianist. As it is, this disc is front loaded with catchiness, but the back end is worth a listen as well.

4 out of 5 stars A good place to start........2003-03-21

...I recently had the pleasure of seeing Miss Slean in
concert at a lcal university, and though she kept
the audience waiting for nearly two hours, the final
result was well worth it. She gave the best small-
venue performance I have ever seen. Slean is a good
composer, a vibrant vocalist with a potent and
distinctive voice, and a great pianist and performer.
A clinging precocity in her work is all that prevents
her from rising head and shoulders above the other
artists to whom she is most often compared.

This little album's a good place to start, but there
are other Sarah Slean titles available that Amazon
has yet to offer. You'd be wise to seek them out.

5 out of 5 stars PHENOMENAL.......2003-02-12

As someone who is not easily impressed, I was thrilled when I discovered Sarah Slean. I have all of her CD's and there isn't a song that I don't love. Sarah is immensely talented and has a unique lyrical ability. Her music is melodic and haunting and her voice has an incomparable tone wrought with emotion. The songs Sarah composes are insightful and deal with several issues of importance both to herself and her listeners. Sarah's voice takes on a solid quality in some of her heavier songs like Habit, High and Weight and becomes forlorn and pensive in songs like John the 23rd and Blue Parade. Sarah even has some songs with a choral influence like Awake Soon and Pie Jesu. Her harmonies and intricate and her melodies are memorable. Sarah Slean is without a doubt the best Canadian import in years!
Day One
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Pretty Good
  • Sarah Slean deserves to be 3000 times more well known than she currently is
  • a true, north star in my musical sky
  • A newbie guide to Day One
  • wow
Day One
Sarah Slean
Manufacturer: Wea International
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
Pop RockPop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Adult AlternativeAdult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music
Alternative RockAlternative Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
RockRock | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:
  1. Sarah Slean
  2. Night Bugs
  3. Orphan Music
  4. Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt
  5. Beth Waters

ASIN: B0002XVKL8
Release Date: 2004-10-11

Tracks:

  1. Pilgrim
  2. Lucky Me
  3. Mary
  4. California
  5. Day One
  6. Out in the Park
  7. Vertigo
  8. When Another Midnight
  9. Score
  10. Your Wish Is My Wish
  11. Wake Up

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Pretty Good.......2007-05-13

This is a good CD. I love about half the songs, but the other half are just okay. 'Lucky Me' is a great song and makes the purchase totally worth it though.

5 out of 5 stars Sarah Slean deserves to be 3000 times more well known than she currently is.......2006-06-06

It's been 28 years since Kate Bush first shocked the UK with her moody, experimental songwriting. It's been 14 years since Tori Amos made the piano cool again. At this point, the image of an eccentric, talented, esoteric female singer-songwriter seated at a baby grand, alternately wailing, growling, or cooing, has become one of the most enduring clichés in music.

And why not? It's a formula that sells, with proven appeal to a subset of the music-listening population. Recent years have seen a proliferation of such artists, running the gamut from Vanessa Carlteon to Charlotte Martin, from Rachel Yamagata to Regina Spektor. Sarah Slean stands out from this pack of admitted worthies, though.

If Kate Bush is the High Priestess, Tori Amos the Queen, and Fiona Apple the precocious prodigal princess with a penchant for jazz and hip-hop, then Sarah Slean is the madwoman in the attic of the castle. And I say that as a compliment --- her powers, both as a songwriter and a performer, are stunning, yet so many people live their musical lives without ever realizing she's tucked away up there in Canada, pondering philosophy, conversing with the mice and the ravens, and writing some of the best arty pop-rock of our age.

If I had to make a direct comparison, I would say she is something like an early Kate Bush with a modern spin, a similarly theatrical style, and better piano chops. And Canadian. But why make such a comparison? She has just as much in common with William Blake, really. Slean is one of the few in this genre who whole-heartedly deserves the mantle of true original.

And Day One is the fullest realization of her powers thus far. While the piano-pop set might find more to love on her second-to-most-recent album, Nightbugs (see: Elliot, Duncan, My Invitation), this rhythmic tour-de-force is both Slean at her most accessible and Slean at her artistic best.

Take the second song and first single, "Lucky Me," a moderate radio hit in Canada. This is actually an uptempo polka (of all things!) cleverly masquerading as a jaunty, catchy-as-hell pop-rock tune. And is it about, say, a relationship gone wrong? Desire? Repression? Nothing so mundane, my dears. "Lucky Me" is a thoughtful and insightful examination of the conflict between science and faith in the modern world, and the psychological (or spiritual) implications this struggle has. Heady stuff that you can tap your feet to.

And, as if this wasn't enough, Slean can craft a melody like no other. There are very few artists I have ever encountered in my wide and varied listenings who can match her for sheer sing-a-long-a-bility. Her soaring choruses and lilting verses have more hooks than a fishing tackle.

The album has a great balance of light and dark. Pilgrim, the opener, is heavy with despair and dread, while When Another Midnight is an almost frantic call to arms, urging people to remember beauty and joy in a world that is becoming increasingly chaotic, cruel, and insane.

"How to live a noble life in this, the Age of Insanity
when every prophet's face is turning white: it's the look of "can it be?"
it's shock, it's horror, it's despair!
it's Socrates weeping in a wheelchair
teacher drooling, unaware: "where, my students? where? where?"

And yet, ultimately, Day One is a celebration of joy and life in the face of such peril. The album is, essentially, about laughing in the face of darkness. The title track urges us not to let the drudgery of daily life get to us, and to seek out a rebirth of vitality and vibrancy. The sweet but touching Mary celebrates Slean's grandmother, who is "toughest of the tough / but still a lady." Out in the Park is a lilting waltz that reminds us not to forget the joy and sublime beauty one can find in little things (like feeding the birds in the park).

My own personal favourite, Vertigo, is a song that encapsulates the over-all feeling of the album, in my mind: it is a song about driving on the highway at night and feeling so happy to be alive, and yet being so afraid of dying because of that happiness. It is a conflict of emotion (joy and dread) that I often experience, but that few songwriters have examined. Slean does it, and does it masterfully.

Day One is an album that is not to be missed. In my mind, it is an equal with Tori Amos's From the Choirgirl Hotel or even Kate Bush's Hounds of Love. It is rhythmic and more accessible than Slean's earlier work (just as the those other two were for Amos and Bush), and yet it is her strongest, boldest, bravest, and most successful artistic statement to date (again, as those other two were for each respective artist). I cannot recommend it strongly enough.

5 out of 5 stars a true, north star in my musical sky.......2005-07-05

Sarah's music and her voice have been incredibly healing for me. Regardless of our societal conceptions about the image of a man, I often cry when I hear her songs. I am also a singer songwriter and I am soooo greatful to have found her music. She has such a beautiful sound that I honestly can't describe how it makes me feel in words. Thank you Sarah for your music, i hope you know how big of an impact you can make by reaching out with your creation. I think her music would appeal to very sensitive people in transition with their lives, among any other combination of things. She paints a perspective that I feel I am living as well. Bottom line, if you are a person who feels intensly, enjoy beautiful music and emoting through sound, you should check this out.
-Jim Houck [...]

4 out of 5 stars A newbie guide to Day One.......2005-05-28

This CD is Sarah Slean's most recent and quite enjoyably. It's a little more synthy and poppy than her other albums but it's got the unique style that some of us know as Sarah Slean. I definetely recommend this, her song writing isn't the typical I love him but he doesn't love me so ew. I highly recommend it. She's better in concert, if you have the chance ;)

4 out of 5 stars wow.......2005-04-04

I have been a radio fan of Sarah Slean for the past couple of years since Night Bugs' singles hit the waves. I checked out a few tunes from her previous work and found it a bit hard to get into at times, not understanding where she's coming from with her musical style. Still, I love the fact that she's got her own style, which already puts her above all the manufactured pop of our day. I'm also a fan of Canadian artists, being patriotic. I was excited about Day One, after learning more about her from websites and articles, and eagerly jumped into Day One when it arrived (courtesy of Amazon, btw). I was immediately hooked. She's created what I feel to be a truly fantastic CD, filled with the emotion for which she is known and a new found groovier sound that will hopefully help the CD be more accessible to newer fans. I wish her all the best with this outing. The Juno nod hopefully serves as a hint of great things to come!
Orphan Music
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Orphan Music
    Sarah Slean
    Manufacturer: Wea International
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
    Pop RockPop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
    Adult AlternativeAdult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music
    Similar Items:
    1. Day One
    2. Let It Die
    3. Wintersong

    ASIN: B000JBWXEQ
    Release Date: 2007-01-08

    Tracks:

    1. Lucky Me [Live]
    2. Somebody's Arms [Live]
    3. Eliot [Live]
    4. Mary [Live]
    5. Last Year's War [Live]
    6. Out in the Park [Live]
    7. Pilgrim [Live]
    8. Narcolepsy Weed [Live]
    9. Scope [Live]
    10. Weight [DNA 12" Groove Mix]
    11. Wilderness [B Side]
    12. Little London Night [B Side]
    13. California [DNA 12" Groove Mix]
    14. Lucky Me [DNA 12" Groove Mix]
    15. Pilgrim [DNA 12" Groove Mix]

    Amazon.com

    Sarah Slean composes music that's better suited to another time, that would be more appropriate in a '30s cabaret-style piano bar than a contemporary nightclub. Her first official live CD, Orphan Music perfectly captures the Toronto chanteuse's style, offering up listeners a bare-bones, emotive performance to two loving audiences in Toronto and Vancouver. Slean speaks very little between songs and there is no applause until the end of the set but her audience can be heard elsewhere offering their call-and-response additions to a pair of melodies ("The Score" and "Lucky Me"). The disc's unequivocal standout track, "Last Year's War" is nothing short of breathtaking, enhanced by her skilled piano playing and a powerful string quartet. The near-stillness of her performance increases as the song evolves with lyrics like "I'm still bloodied from last year's war" that are guaranteed to stir even the most hardened soul.

    It should be noted that Orphan Music is not an entirely live CD, in fact six of the 15 tracks are B-sides, of which two ("Lucky Me" and "Pilgrim") are also included in the live set. Another caveat that should appear in every Slean review is just how strongly she emulates Kate Bush's singing and songwriting style. If you can get past that uncomfortable truth, Slean's songs and the accompanying string arrangements are well worth a listen. --Denise Sheppard
    Universal
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      Universal
      Sarah Slean
      ProductGroup: Music
      Binding: Audio CD
      ASIN: B000K4U6O6

      Product Description

      Tracks 1. Weight 2. I Know 3. Angel 4. Me and Jerome 5. Universe 6. Pie Jesu 7. John the 23rd [CD only] [Hidden Track] 8. Climbing Up the Walls [CD only] [Hidden Track] Musicians: Sarah Slean (piano, vocals), Sharon Tiessen (cello), Christine Paul (violin), Mark Mariash (drums, percussion), Michael Cooper (basses, keyboard bass), Chris Emmick (electric guitar noises).
      Sarah Slean
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        Sarah Slean
        Sarah Slean
        Manufacturer: ATLANTIC RECORDS
        ProductGroup: Music
        Binding: Audio CD
        ASIN: B000IFFCM8

        Product Description

        Her voice has the same sort of earnest, earthy folkiness that made Sarah McLachlan a fan favorite, while her piano ballads evoke obvious comparisons to a less-spacy Tori Amos or a less-angry Fiona Apple. Sarah Slean's debut EP shows songwriting talent to spare. The opening "Eliot" is a grand waltz that wouldn't sound out of place on a Rufus Wainwright album, with a dizzying approach to dynamics that makes great use of string crescendos and wailing harmony vocals. "Book Smart, Street Stupid" could be a long-lost Edith Piaf torch ballad, while the stripped-down simplicity of "Me & Jerome" uses ambient atmospheres to shine the spotlight on Slean's nimble piano style and evocative vocals. So maybe she's not exactly reinventing the wheel here, but at least this seven-song set piques your curiosity as to where the singer/songwriter's bandwagon will lead on her full-length debut. And really, what more can you ask of an EP? CONTENTS: 1) Eliot 2) Book Smart, Street Stupid 3) Bank Accounts 4) High 5) Twin Moon 6) Me & Jerome 7) John the 23rd

        Music Review:

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        10. The Art of the Toy Piano

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