(photo: Rebecca Miller)

I listen to a lot of CDs and it is generally fairly easy to find an immediate reference point but Alessi's Ark's third disc, The Still Life, takes a lot of pleasantly surprising twists and turns which showcases the maturity of 22 year-old singer Alessi Laurent-Marke's songs. The thirteen-track / 32 minute disc incorporates a wide range of styles, which combine "Suzanne Vega-style" semi-confessional, personal lyrics with with a range of music styles that includes 'electonica' dance beats, dream-pop and 90's alt-rock and the instrumentation and percussion is surprisingly complex and diverse.

Only a few short years into her career, the London-based Laurent-Marke – who began playing music and launched a fanzine, Brain Bulletin, during her secondary school years in West London – is already prolific: her first, self-released EP, 2007’s Bedroom Bound, garnered the then-teenage artist a major label deal and attention around the globe.  While The Still Life still has strong ties to Laurent-Marke's acoustic/folky roots, this new disc is much more experimental and varied than previous outings. 

“I wanted to create a musical landscape that varied in sound,” Laurent-Marke says, “but an overriding feeling of ‘stillness’ remained throughout the album. I also wanted to step back from playing acoustic guitar and immerse the songs in very different sound settings from previous recordings.”

While the music on The Still Life takes a number of twists and turns, the centerpiece of all of the songs is Laurent-Marke's clear and upfront (and frequently waife-like) vocals.  The disc opens with "Tin Smithing" which grabs the listener's ear right away with  innovative, syncopated percussion and big backing vocals on the chorus.  Immediately shifting gears on the next number, "Veins are Blue" has a shuffling 60's beat, a call-and-response sing-along chorus and hints of shoe-gazer echo in some of the the guitar work.  Seemingly never content to stand still, "The Rain" fully makes the plunge into shoegazer territory but adds an electronica/trip-hop backbeat.  Coming full circle back to her earlier work, this track is followed by "The Good Song", a wistful folky number.  While there are a lot of strong tracks on this disc, my favorite is a cover of The National's "Afraid of Everyone", which is recast with a slow-burning, dance club beat and dark vocals harmonies that bring bring back fond memories of the best elements of Luscious Jackson.

The diverse range of styles on this disc shouldn't scare anyone off as Laurent-Marke's vocals provide an anchor and common ground between all of the tracks and this is complemented by producer Andy LeMaster's warm and shimmery productions.  “I hope that this album is good company for the listener,” says Laurent-Marke, “I tried to create something that would leave them happy, leave them with a feeling of peace. To me, the best thing an album can be is a friend you can rely on.”



Alessi's Ark 2013 Tour Dates 
MAY 17 -- BARCELONA, ES, BARTS (Barcelona Arts on Stage)
MAY 24 -- HAY ON WYE, UK, HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN FESTIVAL
MAY 25 -- CARDIFF, UK, BUFFALO
JUNE 3  -- SEATTLE, WA, SUNSET TAVERN*

JUNE 4  -- PORTLAND, OR, HOLOCENE*

JUNE 6  -- SAN FRANCISCO, CA, THE CHAPEL*

JUNE 7  -- LOS ANGELES, CA, BOOTLEG THEATER*

JUNE 11 -- EVANSTON, IL, SPACE**

JUNE 14 -- MERCURY LOUNGE, NYC 
(Early show supporting The Ludlow Thieves;  Show starts at 7:30PM and advance tickets are $12)


JUNE 16  -- PHILADELPHIA, PA, JOHNNY BRENDA'S*

JUNE 19 -- BOSTON, MA, TT THE BEAR'S*

JUNE 20 --  PORTLAND, ME, ONE LONGFELLOW*

JULY 20 -- HILL FARM, OXFORDSHIRE, UK, TRUCK FESTIVAL

AUG. 31 -- BIRMINGHAM, UK, MOSELEY FOLK FESTIVAL

* supporting Sam Amidon

** supporting Patterson Hood

Links:
Alessi's Ark