Vocalist Patty Waters straddles approaches that are something like a lounge jazz and a vocal avant-gardism, singing to stripped down instrumentals playing familiar then dissonant intervals, often ones that feel just slightly off of what you expect—the effect is something like holding an old photograph in your hand and noticing the material distortions. What sounds sentimental in a Nat King Cole or King Moody croon, becomes haunting or grin under Patty Water’s command.
I especially get that effect from this album, College Days, in which her voice warmly vibrates at the center, with the instruments falling into the background. It’s perfect rainy day music from her, but this album also has a lot of her screaming and using her voice in a remarkable way, it definitely draws comparison to someone like Meredith Monk, where breathe voice and tone become their own force. This track Wild is the Wind is the noisiest and reminds me of Arthur Russell at some points.
Reccomend if you like: Joan La Barbera, Bjork, Shelley Hirsch, Fiona Apple, Meredith Monk.
