I appreciate a broad range of music and I’m really not loyal to any of them particularly. There are some that I avoid like the plague, but even in those genres there are a few exceptions. I don’t care too much for modern Country or Rap or anything that requires high levels of drugs to get into.
Unfortunately, there’s a lot of garbage out there. Not that it’s always profane or otherwise immoral… just not that good and often way over processed. Perhaps over publicised too. I get the feeling that artists don’t spend time working on there lyrics and putting together a really good product. It’s more about getting a CD to market quickly and then getting on to the next thing. Like McDonalds – “Next!”.
Sara Groves - Tell Me What You Know
Fortunately there are some bright spots in this otherwise gloomy atmosphere. One of them for me is Sara Groves.
Her Website: www.saragroves.com
I heard one of her songs on the radio a few years back. The song was “What I thought I wanted”. It captivated me. This was something you wouldn’t hear on the monopoly mainstream stations, and it was very creative and thought provoking. The synth patterns and musical compositions were great. So, I immediately went out and bought the album (“The Other Side Of Something” 2004) just for that one song. Then I discovered, to my pleasant surprise, that the others on the album were just as good. Particularly “The Boxer”, depicting life as a boxing match, and “Esther” about an African missionary.
To bring this forward, I recently picked up one of Sara’s later releases “Tell Me What You Know” (2007), and it’s surprisingly just as good.
I’m not sure how to classify her music. I want to say a mix between pop and folk, but that doesn’t really do it justice with the keyboards and electronics she uses. It’s definitely not hard ‘guitar drive’ music, but not back-woodsy either.
To be honest, I get a little bit of criticism from some of my friends when I tell them I really like Sara’s music. Somehow I think she’s not ‘trendy’ enough for them. You can’t necessarily “rock out” to her beats at a party. However, she is a true artist, she’s original, not mainstream, and definitely not cookie cutter. Her lyrics are well placed and and thoughtful, and her melodies, although sometimes slightly on the melancholia side, are fantastic. I would sacrifice ‘trendy’ for quality any day.
My hat is off to you Sara Groves. Keep making good music.
I couldn’t find any clips on YouTube of my favorite songs, so here’s a promo clip.
Sara Groves Promo