melissa ferrick

listen hard

‘Sometimes preconceived notions get the best of you. All it may take is a certain album cover design or a band named after the singer/songwriter to elicit a cringed face or upturned nose. Often that response is followed by the phrase ?Uh oh.?

It would be a lie to say that ?Listen Hard? did not elicit such a response prior to the first listening.

To be proven wrong only makes an album that much more powerful. It?s an unexpected surprise that lightens the day a bit. It is hard to say whether Melissa?s voice or her guitar was the more impressive surprise, though.

Vocally, she is a good mixture between Ani DiFranco (the melodies and the lyrics) and Sheryl Crow (the twang).

Melissa keeps true to the statement ?I hate slow? that she makes in the song ?Selfish Side.? The distorted guitars provide fierce and fast neo-folk (such terminology may be blasxefxbfxbd yet necessary to provide an accurate description), which is also a bit reminiscent of Ms. DiFranco. Needless to say, the bass and drums follow the suit of the guitars pace making it sound a bit like a female and sober Flogging Molly.

As the album advances, the tempo slows down, as might be expected. These are the moments that the Sheryl Crow influence permeates the most.

These slower songs fit right into the folk rock genre. As its history and tradition suggest, folk musicians adhere to strict rules regarding guitar progressions and vocal stylings. After the first couple of songs, Melissa rarely breaks with tradition.

While the next part may be anticipated and unsurprising, the album remains at a fairly high quality that is worth numerous listens.

?marie in the middle,? which is the only song in the middle of the album that speeds up the tempo, has a Coldplay twist to it which makes it one of the better tracks on the album. In competition for that top spot would be the opening two tracks ?burn this guitar,? and ?shatter me.?

At points, though, the phrase ?Uh oh? was warranted. Namely, this came when Melissa felt the need to scat. Rarely if ever is it a good idea there, Cab Calloway. Leave anything jazz in roots to the jazz musicians.