Music Rant:

Angela Desveaux.

I first came across Angela's music while doing research for a film I'm writing about a group of misfits who come down to NYC from Montreal to sell Christmas trees. Anyone who knows me, knows that while I'm writing a screenplay, I need to listen to music for inspiration. So, I pored through Myspace pages looking for bands that represent the Montreal music scene. I noticed immediately a common thread of Bluegrass music. The other thing I noticed was Ms. Desveaux's name associated with many of the bands.

When you log onto Angela Desveaux's Website or Myspace page, the only song you'll hear is "Heartbeat," from her latest disc "Wandering Eyes." At first, I was a little confused by the fact that the one song she chose to put on her pages, was not really a country song; I mean, coming from someone who proclaims that her "parents listened to more country music than residents of Nashville," not to mention the fact that she's an alumna of the Sonny Best Band. But, after she repeated the lyric "In control is not enough," enough times... I didn't care what style of music it was, I just knew I liked it, and wanted to hear more. Quite frankly, "Heartbeat" is so catching, that you'll find yourself humming its refrain after merely one listen. "Bury Me Deeper" and "Familiar Times" certainly nod at her bluegrass roots, but then there's a song like "If Only," which is more elegiac in its approach, and musically reminds me of another one of my Montreal music favorites, Lhasa De Sela. On "Good Intentions," she channels a young Chrissy Hine. But where she may stray from her roots musically, Ms. Desveaux certainly covers familiar country milieux, thematically, with many songs addressing heartbreak and unrequited love: the title track "Wandering Eyes," is an ode to her brother's broken heart at the hands of an ex-lover.

Without this turning into a separate performance review, I would like to mention that I saw Angela Desveaux a few weeks ago, live at Tonic, in NYC, when she opened for Archer Prewitt (of The Sea and Cake). It was there that I bought "Wandering Eyes," personally from Ms. Desveaux, and that I truly became a fan. In all honesty, I went to see her based solely on hearing the one song, and hearing the entire album for the first time, performed live, was quite an experience. She and her band were amazing. Generally, I don't lavish such fulsome praise, but I was overwhelmed by her talent. Angela is a serious musician, skilled guitarist and gifted songwriter, whose vocals take center stage on this very excellent CD.

You can find Angela Desveaux's "Wandering Eyes" at http://www.thrilljockey.com/artists/index.html?id=10143