Karen Dezelle – Room For Two EP

“It’s the voice! It’s the voice!” I mean, I like voices as much as anyone but it is never just about the voice to me. It is about the nuance of the voice, maybe, or the texture or the tone, but it is never just the voice. That’s why I hear one track I love and one I do not and to others they sound the same. No, you need more than just a voice. You need a way to separate that voice from others.   

To be honest, that was my first thought when I heard “Alchemy,” a track from Dezell’s brand new EP, Room For Two. The voice. But it didn’t take me more than a few seconds to step beyond. The first time through it felt like there was a different structure to each verse and chorus. Oh, they were the same all right, just not the same. The layers, of which there were many by the end, morphed with the song, laying down bits and pieces of— what should I call it, understructure?— which kept it flowing in the right direction. The song itself is simple but the arrangement makes it more.

The arrangement utilizes rhythmic electronics, very slight, and I was a bit concerned, so I contacted Ms. Dezelle and asked if it recurred anywhere else in what turned out to be five songs worth. No, she told me. Just the one. She evidently had the same concern— that the electronics would get in the way of what she wanted her songs to be. She gave me a link to all five songs (I had picked up on “Alchemy” through a Facebook tip) and found four others.

All four are folk/pop gems, mixing excellent picking and strumming with the occasional full band sound for contrast. Of the four, “All You Ever Wanted” strikes me the most, the melody and harmony emotional in a very understated way and a guitar break which offsets the chorus and verse perfectly.

While I do not have liner notes and do not know who is responsible for the various instruments nor the production, I should mention that the background instruments and the arrangements are quite impressive, always a plus.

This is a start. Assuming that these are the first recordings by Karen Dezelle (whoops, just checked and they are not), it is a very good start. Five songs may not be much in terms of a legacy but I can only hope that her songwriting continues on a similar path and she does not lose her muse. Light pop/folk for today has been the basis for long and successful careers. I would put money that hers might just be one of those.