Beth Ann McDowell (aka Littlefoot) made an extraordinary album called "Symbol of Love" a few years ago. "Symbol of Love" had elements of Kate Bush, Fiona Apple, and Phil Collins' era Genesis with Beth Ann's exceptional voice, incredible drum programming, complex synthesizer work, and bold, intricate melodies. Her follow up, The Sim Is Real starts out fantastic with "Highwayman" and works into the album's first single "Where the Calm Things Are" with a decisive shift into incredible live band oriented instrumentals (as opposed to Symbol of Love's electronic sound).
Before listening to the whole album, I could not stop listening to "Where the Calm Things Are," a real ear worm almost in the style of Jellyfish. The definition and production on this album is sterling. The vocal work and lyrics bring an element of realism without losing the ethereal element of her earlier work. Each song has its own twists and turns with lots of unpredictable chord and structural shifts. With guitar by Matt Kirkwold, bassist Isaac Levy, drummer John Richardson, and backing vocalist Jennifer Grimm; producer R. Walt Vincent (Liz Phair, Pete Yorn) takes McDowell's work to exciting new places.
"Killers of the Early Morning" is a breakup song with challenging lyrical and melodic depth. The arrangements on every track are meticulous and sprawling. "The Sim is Real" is a progressive power pop jam with a distinctly awesome "wah" guitar solo. "Copy and Paste" is a really endearing pop song with a powerful orchestration, a clever melody, and a lot of dynamic elements. "Hook" has some great rhythmic shift, a powerful melody, and several mind bending key changes. Beth Ann has a talent for mixing the progressive and the palpable. Album closer,"Sei Ottavi" is a waltzing pop song in some other language.
For fans of mainstream pop looking for something more compositionally and sonically challenging, fans of Dressy Bessy, Jellyfish, and complex power pop, and for people who like great songwriting.
YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE ALBUM ON SPOTIFY BY CLICKING HERE..!! !! !! !!
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