in review… At Sea - Alli Rogers
April 7, 2007
Kenji Skulstad
I have to admit, when I put in At Sea by Alli Rogers, I immediately noticed the high quality of the live recordings. Perhaps the dry, clean, simple sound is easier to get from a lone voice and guitar than full rock-band, but it makes this live set enjoyable from the first listen.
Her smooth and savoury voice is at its best during the chorus of “For the Morning,” laying down a hook as delicious as her homemade cookies – which I’ve heard are so good they could melt your face off. The play of tension and spinning release makes this my favourite track on the album.
As a storyteller, Rogers tackles hard issues such as being a mother in Africa in the song “Tanzania,” but she doesn’t take an easy narrative slant on the hardships of that continent. Instead, she balances and parallels the stories of two mothers, and ties in the struggles that exist in North America, as well.
Other standout tracks include the pulsing but slightly melancholy “If I Ever,” which focuses on the role our five senses play in relationships, and the dark, menacing sounds in “Eden” that slide into a claustrophobic and pensive refrain. Rogers’ cover of Coldplay’s “‘Til Kingdom Come” (off their X & Y disc) keeps the British ambient sounds with its additional electric and orchestral strings, but Rogers makes the song her own. Her voice isn’t quite as pleasant on this track, but, then again, she is going for Chris Martin’s trademark nasal-falsetto.
At Sea is Rogers as a young songwriter still coming into her own. She does fall into some common traps, but there is strength enough in her writing to carry it through. With a very solid foundation and some very quality peers in her inner circle (she hangs out and recently toured with Derek Webb), she should be growing quickly.
Now you go...
Got something to say?