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Linda Draper:
One Two Three Four
An established performer on the New York anti-folk scene, Linda Draper is an underexposed treasure. This reviewer was pleasantly overwhelmed by the grace, gentility, and balance of One Two Three Four. Draper resembles Cat Power in the era of You Are Free wide open layered arrangements culled from jazz and folk have been coupled with unique turns of phrase and warm guitar. When produced by Kramer, the man who brought us Low and Galaxie 500, the result is assured. As the title suggests, the album is rhythmically paced (the worthy metronome actually figures in the lyrics). The many strings, horns, and backing guitar sound slightly removed in the mix; Ms. Drapers voice and guitar are front and center. It is like being in the presence of a beautiful street busker, accompanied by an obliging classical quartet from inside the theater. Flowing gently from the nearly sing-along opening track, Super Zero, separate tales of love, loss, death, or change emerge. Almost without pause, Ms. Draper moves from each one. One Two Three Four seems the kind of reflective album one would make after losing someone dear. Counting off, cycles, loss, returnMs Draper is poised to address them all. Ms. Drapers songwriting skills and enviable voice are well displayed here. In Seven Black Crows, watching someone hooked up to a respirator, she sings my tears are dropping like flies, a morose yet accurate depiction of the combined misery and reality of death. Baby Inchworm, sung at the demise of a love affair, has a beautiful harmony vocal that leaves one feeling hopeful, despite the perceived loss. Candle Opera feels almost medieval, with a ghostly choir and a more classical melody. The closing track, One Two Three Four, again brings to mind the whispered sweetness of Chan Marshall, as well as reinstating the thematic cycle. Throughout the album, small touches of flute or violin keep the album sounding rich, while the lack of piano keeps it feeling soft, and somehow immediate. Rosie Thomas, the Innocence Mission, and Cat Power have all brought us albums of sweet reserved sound, spiked by the wry taste of good poetry. Linda Drapers beautiful voice, polished lyrics and refined instrumentation make her a fitting companion to those we trust for a little bit of sweetened honesty as we cycle through the occasionally bitter life.
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