author: 6/20/07 - Willamette Week - Amy McCullough
Ali Wesley has the voice of an angel. It's simple, pure, elegant. And her debut full-length, All Things (My Two Fish), would have you believe she's got the disposition of one, too. From the opening track, she sings darling folk-pop ballads about love, love, love. But that's only if you scratch the surface; amid all that mushiness lie stories of regret, imperfection, uneasiness and (gasp!) sex.
But the purely lovey material—some of the tracks are truly wholesome—is quite good in its own right. "And" describes how it feels to have a guardian angel over simple, brushed drums and acoustic guitar: "I accelerate through all the lights/ And I'm not scared." It's undeniably sappy, but Wesley's conviction—and her knack for infectious melodies—make it more charming than cloying. Likewise, "Blah Blah," though rooted in a potentially nauseating concept (that it's taboo to say "I love you" in a song), comes off clever. It starts with a drum-machine beat reminiscent of Ben Gibbard's early, lo-fi
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author: 6/21/07 - Portland Mercury - Ezra Ace Caraeff
While her earliest material was stark and suited for the waning hours of an open mic coffeehouse session, Alison Wesley's excellent new album, All Things (My Two Fish), glistens with the playful pop sheen of a youthful Regina Spektor. Her lively songs and innocent voice, especially on the drum machine-backed "Blah Blah," propel her far beyond the rigid world of solo singer/songwriters. Her record is out today, so line Wesley's pockets with some cash, as it's the best purchase you'll make in a while.
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author: 6/13/07 - Willamette Week's Local Cut - Amy McCullough
Let me start off by saying that I’m not a huge fan of girl-with-guitar type stuff, but Ali Wesley is a freaking angel. She must be. I mean, have you heard her voice? Well, if you listen to NPR’s “All Songs Considered” or attend Live Wire! or if you saw this video–basically, if you’ve ever heard Super XX Man’s “Collecting Rocks”–then you’ve heard Ali Wesley. She (or her voice, at least) plays the female role in “Collecting Rocks,” Super XX Man’s lovely, somewhat cautionary tale of lifelong romance. And that voice, my friends, is the definition of angelic.
Wesley’s now employing that wonderment of vocality to her own songs, and the result is often stunning. “The World I Adore”–one of the strongest tracks on her upcoming debut, All Things (My Two Fish)–is, according to her a MySpace, a plea for the common knowledge we often take for granted (or, at least that’s what I took from Wesley’s blog about her songs’ meanings).
Besides the simple, positive message, though, “The World I Ador
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