Vanessa Peters - The Burn The Truth The Lies

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 12 / 1 / 2013

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Review

Even with help from the funding platform Kickstarter, Vanessa Peters’ latest album very nearly didn’t materialise. Peters was living in Italy and, after a number of albums and tours with her band Ice Cream On Mondays, 2009 saw the band break up and an exhausted Peters returned to Texas with doubts that she would ever record again. Thankfully Peters did return to the studio last year to record the well received seasonal collection ‘The Christmas We Hoped For’. Soon after, realizing that she missed writing and performing her songs, Peters began writing for what became ‘The Burn The Truth The Lies’. 2012 has been an exceptional year for music, especially when it comes to female singer/songwriters. It was only a couple of months ago that Canadian Christina Martin released her best album to date, overflowing with catchy folk pop. and it was in the running to be considered as the best of its genre for 2012. It’s early days, but Peters has at the very least made an album the equal of Christina Martin’s little gem of an album. Peter is a master at knowing how to write catchy melodies, which are not too sugar-sweet but instantly infectious without losing any of their charm or sounding annoying after the twentieth play. Every one of the eleven originals has a melody that, once heard, stays around for the rest of day. You’ll be humming these tunes in your head forever. But it’s not only those unforgettable melodies as Peters is a brilliant wordsmith. Lyrically Peters really shines. There’s not a song here that doesn’t capture your attention; these little stories are so well constructed that you will find yourself actually reading the lyric booklet even when you’re not listening to the album. Then there’s the voice. While it has to be said that Peters doesn’t sound so very different from many other female singers who are also treading the same folky pop boards that Peters travels on, there is that something special in her vocals. There is honesty for sure. Peters sounds like she means every word she sings on this album. It is true that you’ll hear Suzanne Vega along with many others throughout the duration of the album, but a more accurate comparison would be Aimee Mann. Mann’s winning way with melodies and thoughtful and at times cutting lyrics, not to mention a vocal similarity made this listener think of Mann many times while listening to ‘The Burn The Truth The Lies’. That Peters has poured her heart and soul into these songs is obvious. At times her lyrics cut so deep it’s almost frightening. Lines could be pulled from any song here as examples at just how brilliant a lyricist Peters is. On ‘Bright Red’ a chiming, lively piece of summer sun shines through December’s grey skies as Peters looks deeper into one of a young girls most common practices with unexpected honesty - “And I can’t remember why but I bought a box of dye and painted my hair bright red/I guess that I was just papering over the cracks in the sidewalks running through my head.” Just that song is littered with such brilliant lyrics it’s worth the price of the album alone. The tale of lost love which opens the album, ‘A Good Judge’, is not the best song on the album by far, and, if any criticism can be leveled at this album at all, it is that by kicking off the album with one of Peters’ less instantly appealing melodies she may well lose some of the lightweights who have an attention span of less than two minutes when it comes to discovering new music. But again lyrically Peters displays what a talent she has. “Not wanting me to leave is not the same thing as wanting me to stay” is just one of many cutting lines on this song. With a brilliant bunch of musicians backing her who bring out the best in her melodies; guitarist Joe Reyes is outstanding, John Dufilho (Apples In Stereo) sits firmly on the drummer’s stool and Jason Garner (The Polyphonic Spree) lends his bass skills. With producer Rip Rowan also filling in on drum and keyboards, Peters has chosen the perfect musicians to frame her story-songs. ‘The Burn The Truth The Lies’ is an inspiring, honest set of songs, brilliantly produced and performed, written by an exceptional songwriter and comes highly recommended. The album gets under your skin on the very first listen and stays there.

Track Listing:-

1 A Good Judge
2 Bright Red
3 The State I'm Living In
4 No Decision
5 Grateful
6 Favorite Day
7 The Sting
8 Copilot
9 String Too Short to Use
10 Good and Ready
11 This Could Go Well

Band Links:-

http://vanessapeters.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanessa_P
http://www.handful-of-sparks.de/
https://www.facebook.com/vanessapeters
https://twitter.com/vanessapeters