Meredith Louise Miller – ifihadahifi
First things first: Words cannot express the wonder of “Whole”, the centerpiece track (both physically and figuratively) of this record. It is, quite simply, one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard. It’s a love song that gets to the heart of the matter and far beyond it, with a simple acoustic guitar and a poignant, graceful cello underscoring Meredith Louise Miller’s alternately subtle and soaring voice. It’s perfect.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s come back down to earth and look at the bigger picture. A young (mid-20s) songwriter from Dallas, Miller released her first album, Bob, on Doolittle Records in 1992; that record introduced a gorgeously expressive singer who was still looking to find her voice as a songwriter. Four years later, all the pieces have fallen into place, and then some. Where Bob seemed a little too naive in some spots and a little too goofy in others (understandable from an artist who was barely out of her teens at the time), ifihadahifi is confident, wise and emotionally forceful.
The musical terrain is loosely grounded in basic acoustic singer-songwriter territory, though some songs drift into countrified fringes while others use minimal studio and miking effects to create more adventurous textures. “His Heart” opens from a gripping perspective — “Staring down the barrel of a gun” — and holds onto that sense of urgency throughout. “Chapel” has a twangy touch to it, yet the song’s protagonist declares at one point, “Don’t you know, I’ve always loved Sid Vicious.” “Own Hand” is bouncy pop of the most catchy and alluring variety; it’s followed by “Walking”, a short and intoxicatingly sweet stroll strung along by Amy Tiven’s violin.
Not everything here works. The opening “Dreams Of You And Elvis” is a worthy attempt to write a country song with a skewed Elvis motif, but it doesn’t quite come off musically. The cover of Buddy Holly’s “Wishing” is a nice touch but unremarkable. And the disc’s final two songs, clocking in at 5:51 and 6:45, are both too long and too personally absorbed to connect. It’s interesting to note that while most artists tend to put their best stuff up front and at the end, often leaving a lag in the middle, ifihadahifi actually starts and finishes a bit slowly. But the middle five songs are as strong as you’ll find on any album this year — especially “Whole”, about which I’d say more, but words just can’t express it.