Lara Ewen and the Unstrung Orchestra
Ghosts and Gasoline
© 2007 Lara Ewen (700261211428)
CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.
SPECIAL: 30% discount if you buy more than one copy of it today!
This brand-new CD from alt.country songwriter Lara Ewen finds her acoustic-driven storytelling backed by a full band for the first time. Come for the songwriting, and stay for the rock'n'roll.
tracks
try this
albums you will love
genres you will love
By Location
Recommended if you like ...
notes
Lara Ewen straddles the Americana, folk, alt. country and classic singer/songwriter genres. This Brooklyn-based artist has performed at such notable NYC venues as CBGB's, The Bitter End and The Knitting Factory, and has plans to tour the U.S. in 2007. Defined by her rootsy Americana style, she spent her early days as a busker in Boston and Europe, and is currently the frontperson for her band, Lara Ewen and the Unstrung Orchestra. Lara's bar room-meets-bedroom vocals and bluesy guitar chops can be heard on her debut EP release, Clear, as well as on the brand-new full-length full-band album, Ghosts and Gasoline.
reviews
Please log in to review this album.
Bittersweet acoustic songs
author: BluesbunnyLara presents us with some fine examples of gentle yet bittersweet acoustic music. Although the predominate influence is Americana, it would be unfair to classify Lara in purely that vein. As well as the Nashville country influence there is also Greenwich Village folk and San Franciscan pop just under the surface. All of which makes her a bit of a cartographer of the American musical landscape in her own right. The lively "Untethered" with an infectiously almost bouncy summery folk beat that seems to mix elements of Joni Mitchell and Carole King with the Cranberries is a real standout track. Personal favourite though is "Clear" which is a mid tempo alt country style of song with a bit of an autobiographical feel to it. With "20 Years Ago" we are taken in a more reflective direction and mood. "Blessed" is another song with deceptively meaningful lyrics, and the mellow sounding "Josephine" would appear to fit in the same category. Although tending to favour the slower paced and seemingly tender song, Lara's lyrics often carry a bit more of a bite if you take the time to listen. Recommended for fans of singer songwriters who tell it from the heart.
I can't stop listening to this album!
author: Jeff JacobsonRemember when there were albums you wanted listen to all the way through and maybe even over again? This is definitely one of those albums. Lara's unique storytelling has a way of drawing you in without you even realizing it, and her superb band provides a dreamy backdrop for her achingly lovely voice and excellent guitar playing.
I love this CD
author: Colin McShaneClearly one of the best singer/songwriters to come out of NYC, and a beautiful girl. Well done.
Solid songs+an honest voice=A great album
author: Andy MacThis album is a prime example of how professional and brilliant independent music can be. The production is top notch, the songs are great and memorable, and Lara Ewen's voice is about as real and honest as voices get. If you know what's good for you, buy this now. You won't be sorry.
- author: Tamara Turner, CD Baby
With a femininely rugged constitution, like cigarette-smelling velvet and a “disillusioned but struggling to remain hopeful” edge to her heady, Stevie Nicks-like vocals, Lara Ewen’s style is one that evokes a constant stream of flashbacks from those moments in life that toughen our skin, give us our spine and strengthen our resolve; it’s that quality that seems to communicate, “I’ve been through some crap in my life.” Her voice pushes outward at the seams of these songs with an abundance of distilled emotion, producing that coagulated, leathery and roughened quality; at the same time, there is an equal, complementary spirit of vulnerability and surrender, a kind of agreement with the self that life is bound to toss us around, bound to knock us around a bit, but it’s no reason to keep the heart from hoping. Her songs are the type that give a certain sweetness to pain, imbue a certain kind of peace found in the tumbles we all take; they are the sorts of songs that elicit a sigh where the heart previously couldn’t let go. Ewen’s most distinctive gift is this particular ability to tap into the grit and gristle with an approach that ends up being ultimately heartwarming and consoling, even inspiring. With echoes of Patti Griffin and Lucinda Williams, her songs settle nicely into the territory between alt country and singer/songwriter folk, making Ghosts and Gasoline an album to live with, an album that will naturally be digested slowly and contemplatively. This is the kind of album which sticks with you long-term, leaving an emotional imprint in the same league with your first kiss, your first road trip and your first heartbreak.