Was she born in the wrong time? Or were we?
Granted, she doesn't tweet half-naked selfies or chase her sordid demons in public, as is the M.O. of those that we have instead chosen to represent pop music "at its finest" in the year 2013.
I'm a jaded motherfucker now, but as a teenager coming of age in the '80s, I was madly in love with the music of the time. Still, I also couldn't help feel that the music of the future would be even better. I mean, how could it not be? Even I was smart enough to see that digital recording, still in its infancy, would soon change the face of music forever.
And here we are in the year 2013, where digital recording software literally makes anything you can dream musically possible, yet the Top 40 Singles chart reads like a high school detention list and you can't score a hit without a "featuring (insert name of some other random artist here)" or three.
As a result, those of us "of a certain age" find our ears aching. Aching for an album to come along that is the work of a musically informed mind, someone who appreciates what makes The Clash just as important as The Beatles, or why the Carpenters were BAD-ASS and those who saw them as anything less were merely judging a book by its cover!
Andrea Perry's new album, Four, is the album that I could almost hear in my mind as I dreamed of what we humans might be capable of in the future.
It used to be that when I heard an album of this quality, I would say "Buy it now, before the rest of the world finds out!" Half a year later, that very same artist would be all over the radio and on the verge of overexposure. Would I wish such a thing upon Perry if it were possible?
Yes. Yes, I would.
Call me selfish (you wouldn't be the first), but the world is a better place with Andrea Perry's music in it. I know because I have actually had the pleasure of hearing Andrea's music in the supermarket and it literally lessened the sting of blowing $150 on two measly (and recyclable!) bags of groceries at Whole Foods. No Beatles or Stones track ever did that, although I must admit that I have yet to hear a Stones song at Whole Foods, just saying.
During my first stay in Austin a few years back, I had the good fortune to talk music (aka "geek out") with a few music journos during SXSW. One mentioned Perry and I took the opportunity to float a premise, which is as follows:
With each new album that somehow managed to top the incredible one before it, the Beatles influenced multiple generations to pick up instruments and start bands, but every time I hear a new Andrea Perry album, I want to sell all my gear on Craigslist.
"Holy shit," said a writer for the Chronicle. "My girlfriend actually did that."
He went on to explain how his g/f had been struggling as an artist trying to find her voice and when she heard Andrea's music, she realized that she could never be that good. Next day, her Takamine guitar and case were on Craigslist. "What if Andrea answers your ad?" he teased.
I probably should have just said this part at the beginning...in fact, all CD reviews from this point forward may as well read "Hear it for yourself on Spotify!" I mean, I could ravage my thesaurus and throw all sorts of whimsical phrases at you in hopes of describing each song's grandeur, but I have always been of the mind that if given the chance between hearing someone describe Paris Street, Rainy Day or seeing it for myself, well, I'd rather see it for myself.
I urge you to do the same. Then BUY THE ALBUM and/or sell your gear on Craigslist. :)