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EMBER SWIFT:
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"The Wage Is
The Stage"
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CD Review
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November 17, 2001
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By The Scribe
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The Scribe so loves outbound reviews, especially when it precedes a visit from said out of town artist. Thus was the case of Ember Swift, Canadian blues, jazz, folk, punk chick… according to her website. Ember’s PR person contacted me in early October to familiarize me with her before her Nashville shows in November. How appropriate, then, that I should receive her full-length live release, “The Wage Is The Stage.”
So, since time was of essence, I threw her into The Melting Pot just a few days later. Her first spin found her going around with Nashville singer/songwriter Gretchen Casler (“American Dream”), NYC jazz crooner Natalia Zukerman (“Mortal Child”), Ohio druid Maery Lanahan (“Lesson”) and Nashville foot stomper Lisa Carver (“Carver”).
Let’s just say that all four of these artists put together couldn’t exude enough energy to light one of Ember’s light bulbs. The Scribe was intrigued and decided to see if she could give “The Wage Is The Stage” a run for it’s money.
The second mix was carefully selected and included Jane Siberry (“Hush”), Nashville Rocker Kelly Zullo (“Thin Line”), Toronto pop/rocker Renann (“Renann”) and Alanis Morissette (“Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie”). Here, Ember definitely held her own, blurring the lines between herself and the others and proclaiming her right to be present. I can’t really comment on production since “Wage” is not a studio album. It’s engineering, however, is top notch and so is it’s energy. In short, it’s rather impressive compared to many of the independent releases The Scribe fetches from yon merry post office box.
There is a thing or two that puzzles me. Namely, I see the word “politics” frequently throughout her website and press info but I don’t really hear anything all that political in her lyrics (I mean, other than stuff like “fuck the man anyway you can” or “fairy tales can fuck you up”). Unless you’ve got a real plan for change all you’re doing is complaining (and trotting one’s righteous self off into the sunset doesn’t qualify one as political). She’s rebellious, yes, but not particularly activist political.
I’m also a bit curious as to why “Happiness Ball” was included on this disc. It’s one of the mellower songs on “Wage” and ends up being the commercial break due to the fact that the audience murmuring is ridiculously distracting. It basically screams, “No one’s listening to this. I guess I’ll go get a snack.” I don’t get it, especially since it’s so apparent that Ember has every ability to hold a crowd to a rapt pin-dropping awe.
Ember Swift’s songs are described as encompassing many different genres (including “jazz-folk” and “mid-east-asian folk”) but really she’s got one style –Ember style. I’m going to call it Swift Burning Fusion. She calls a lot of forces together and fuses them into her own thing. I wish I could forego the Ani Difranco similarities but I cannot. Ember radiates a lot of Ani’s style as far as lyrical haphazardness. And, as with Ani, you’ll be hard pressed to find a memorable melody. But that’s where the comparison ends. Musically, Swift has left Difranco in the dust, demonstrating the secret to musical artistry: you should be able to say EVERYTHING you need to say with your music… the lyrics are merely whipped crème, nuts and, occasionally, a cherry.
To reflect this sentiment, my favorite cuts were “Pek” and “Show Up Outside”, the two songs that feature long, sweeping lyricless movements. Absolutely amazing. The Scribe would like to hear more instrumentals out of this young lady as I think that’s where her genius lies –and I have a feeling we haven’t even started to hear what she’s capable of.
One thing is most definitely for sure, Ember Swift knows how to command a stage. And she’ll be commanding THREE of them this week right here in Nashville. She’s at Sweetwater on the 18th, French Quarter on the 19th, and Boardwalk Cafe on the 20th. The Scribe's venue choice would be the Monday night show at French Quarter. Good food, great stage and CJ Watson hosting. So come out and see her. It's for a limited time
only!
In the meantime, go to her website and check her out for yourself. She’s worth a good listen. After all, she’s been added to The Scribe’s personal collection.
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EMBER SWIFT -- "The Wage Is The Stage":
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