Search - Natalia Zukerman :: Brand New Frame

Brand New Sound in Brand New Frame

The Captain | Bridgewater, MA | 09/13/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When a musician is able to tie together both an interesting instrumental sound to a somewhat out of the ordinary vocal sound there is an inherent risk that the musician runs in terms of whether or not it will be accepted by music listeners. Some musicians might try to err on the side of caution rather than mixing two different aspects of their music into one sound. While some people might be turned on by a different musical twist, those same people might not quite fall for the vocal performance and vice versa.



But every now and again a musician is able to find that happy medium between the two and produce an end product that represents both individuality and talent. And it is when this happy medium is reached that the musician can truly be considered a step above the rest.



Natalia Zukerman has crafted an album that highlights her unique deep and almost somber vocals with instrumental sounds that are consistently impressive. Perhaps it is Zukerman's amazing prowess on the guitar that immediately takes the listener by the arm and welcomes them into the music of Zukerman. But that alone would not be worthy of praise alone, rather, it is the guitar sounds matched nicely to the vocals and lyrics of Zukerman that makes Brand New Frame the success that it is.



The music of Zukerman ranges quite a bit on this new release by her. There are times when the music is almost reminiscent of a blues lounge while at other times the music is much more pure Americana sounding. The variation exhibited by Zukerman on the album certainly proves to the listener that this is not a cookie cutter musician and instead what is before us is a musician that takes seriously her obligation to provide the listener with something fresh and individual.



The title track of the album Brand New Frame kicks of the album with an uptempo beat that throws the listener right into the mix of what it means to listen to Natalia Zukerman. There is a strong presence of the instrumentation on this album but the darker vocals of Zukerman are what really is the emphasis of this track. There is a very smooth cohesion to this track which is important for the first track of the album because it proves that although the sound might be a little funky it does indeed work.



On the track Bill the vocals of Zukerman take on a raspy yet almost saucy characteristic that is a further branching out of sounds that Zukerman is willing to experiment with. The instrumentation becomes mainly a background sound on this track while the vocals certainly are what is intended to shine on this track. There is a very much older feel to this track sort of a musical feeling that brings us back to a cigarette smoke filled scene in a black and white film.



With Good Boy, Zukerman infuses a much more upbeat and higher pitched vocal performance to the album that has not truly been heard on much of the rest of the album. There is a faster pace to the instrumental sounds that speeds up not just the pace of the track but also accentuates the higher vocal performance quite nicely.



Track listing:



1. Brand New Frame

2. Favorite Shirt

3. Song for Ramblin' Jack

4. Bill

5. Only Trees

6. The Last Few Miles

7. Early Bird

8. Widow's Walk

9. Good Boy

10. Better Me



Recorded in Milwaukee, Brand New Frame is a dynamic studio released album by Natalia Zukerman. Having become recognized more and more for her musical talent not just by music fans but also by music award groups there is clearly something to the music of Zukerman that excites and impresses listeners all at the same time.



The sound is extremely unique in that her instrumentation is amazingly well polished and paired nicely with vocals that while being a bit out of the ordinary interesting work quite well for Zukerman. Though others might not simply be able to pull this off, Zukerman does it and does so quite nicely. Brand New Frame is an impressive album from start to finish and certainly proves to demonstrate that Natalia Zukerman is clearly well deserving of the praise she has and will continue to receive for her unique musical talents.



Brand New Frame was produced by Willy Porter and is on the Weasel Records label.



For more information about Natalia Zukerman, check out her website at www.nataliazukerman.com.

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