Review: Sarah Jaffe – Suburban Nature
Ahh, to be young and lovelorn. It’s the genesis of a seemingly infinite number of songs and yet it never quite gets old. There will always be young people who are angst-ridden about love and there will always be songs written for them. As far as those songs go, you could definitely do worse than listening to Sarah Jaffe’s. At 23, she’s still young enough to feel the sting of love’s tumult and not feel numb to it. That will come later in life. For now, she is writing some downright lovely songs on the subject.
Suburban Nature is Jaffe’s first album after putting out a prior EP, getting some positive nods from critics, and making her presence known at the 2009 Austin City Limits Festival. At age 23, that’s a pretty good start. This is a remarkable freshman album, too. Jaffe’s voice is remarkable for a singer of any vintage, let alone one just putting out her first album. She’s had a head start, though; some of the songs that appear in Suburban Nature were first penned back when she was still in high school. This calls to mind a few other recent young prodigies such as Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst or Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull.
Although she has the voice of a seasoned veteran, her lyrics are unmistakably those of a rookie. That’s not to say that they’re poorly written, because that’s not the case. Rather, they deal with the thematic issue that dogs many a songwriter in her early career: relationships. They are the suitably bittersweet songs of someone still in the throes of young love, and they make for some pretty good songs. Jaffe has a whole career ahead of her, though, and it will be even more interesting to hear what themes she tackles once she emerges from the chrysalis of her youth.
As far as the instrumentation of her songs, there is a lot to like there as well. Not every track is particularly memorable and sometimes they lapse into paint-by-numbers singer-songwriter fare, but more often than not they hit their mark. The album opens with its strongest track, “Before You Go.” It is a swelling, vibrant song with emotive vocals and prominent strings. The second track, “Stay With Me,” is quieter and more sparse. From there, the remaining tracks mostly split the difference between the two styles.
Suburban Nature is a very strong start for an obviously talented singer, and it will be interesting to watch Jaffe evolve as a musician and a lyricist. Hopefully she will get the recognition she deserves for this album and manage to put out even better ones in the future. Maybe along the way she’ll have some better luck in love, too.
Sarah Jaffe:
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About the Author
Jeremy Clymer lives in Michigan with his wife and kid. He shoots his writings out into the ethers of the Internet in the hopes that someone will pick up on his transmissions and shower him with money and/or praise.Email this Author | All posts by Jeremy Clymer
[...] my snark at the door and praise an up-and-coming artist that deserves recognition. Go ahead and read my review, and listen to the song that’s linked to at the end of it. Hopefully you’ll like her, [...]
Solid write up. Welcome to the party Jeremy
Thanks, Tim. Glad to be here. Now where are the mashed potatoes? I’ve got an idea…
We don’t party with mashed potatoes unless @oswaldhobbes is putting them down his pants for pesonal enjoyment.