Casey Dienel - Wind-Up Canary
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Casey DienelEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2006-03-14
Music Label: Hush Records
Soundtracks:
- Doctor Monroe
- Everything
- Baby James
- Cabin Fever
- Frankie And Annette
- The Coffee Beanery
- Embroidery
- Fat Old Man
- Stationary
- Tundra
- All Or Nothing
- The La La Song
Free Music Notes for Wind-Up Canary
Free Music Review: White, White Hinterland : From the Woods, a Stunning Debut
Hit: 5 Stars
Casey Dienel's debut album (and at the time of writing, only solo album), is a glorious revelation. Best described as an amalgamation of Fiona Apple and 1920s Jazz Princess Annette Hanshaw, Casey displays a musical maturity and skill far beyond her young years. Especially of importance is how good this record sounds upon repeat plays - the music is sparse, yet almost verges on cabaret - the entire enterprise is firmly in the mode of 'female singer songwriter', but the genre here seems something else altogether. You really have to listen to it to discover what its all about.
"Wind Up Canary" was recorded as a bunch of demos that were never meant for public release. As such, they accidentally found their way to an obscure record label that decided to release it to the indie music community. That is perhaps also the reason why so few copies of this album are in existence (if you own a first press copy, count yourself lucky), and why the current prices of available copies are so extraordinarily high.
Onto the music - the indie music world was first introduced to the albums' only single "Doctor Monroe", a giddy 1940s inspired musical ditty that is lush with happy instrumentation, layered with Dienel's exuberant vocals. Its a great introduction to what this album is all about, but not totally defining. Slower ballads, such as the closing scorcher "The La La Song", as well as the poignant "Frank and Annette" are absolutely bewitching. But the album comes into its own when it attempts more enthusiastic melodies, and goes all out in embracing the jazz/blues genre.
Dienel's vocals are surprisingly solid - but ultimately not very memorable. I would say that she is passable, but since these are actually demo recordings one can forgive the couple of times she is out of tune and the odd occassion where she can't carry a note. Still, she sounds like a happy mix of Fiona Apple (especially the way she ends a sentence) and some Regina Spektor thrown in. However, unlike Spektor, the music here is memorable. I've had this for about a year now, and nary a week goes by when I don't play it - its instant pick-me-up music with class.
Casey Dienel eventually went on to form a band called White Hinterland (try finding their stunning debut "Phylactery Factory" here), and it was a quieter, more toned down affair, more reminiscent of that Scarlett Johansson record "Anywhere I lay my Head" than anything else. Its a great album, but Dienel hasn't quite been able to capture the freshness of this debut album. Think of it as a fine accompaniment to Fiona Apple's debut album "Tidal". This is a beautiful album, it holds up beautifully with time, and deserves an instant place in your collection.
Five Stars. Highly recommended for fans of Majandra Delfino, Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Fiona Apple and Maude Maggart.
Wind-Up Canary Poster
"[For] arresting young singer/pianist Casey Dienel...comparisons with the Dresden Dolls are inevitable, but she'll get over them. Note to local college DJs: will make pleasant segue into Jolie Holland, CocoRosie or Joanna Newsom." - BOSTON PHOENIX"With her witty sincerity, Casey Dienel writes songs that meander into their own form...while she has the gentle nuances that make Joanna Newsom immediately distinctive, she sings with a power that's at least equally reminiscent of Olivia Newton John." - PERFORMER MAGAZINE
Even those who think they've heard it all haven't heard anything like Casey Dienel. Wind-Up Canary is literally her first-ever recording, and it finds her matching prodigious musical talent with a lyrical point-of-view that's wild, odd and sharp as brass tacks. A thousand quirky songwriters couldn't imitate her style if they tried.
Wind-Up Canary is the result of an invitation to record for free at an abandoned caretaker's house on a farm in Massachusetts. With some friends and a piano borrowed from the lobby of a local hotel, these songs were recorded in the dead of winter 2004. Dienel finished the songs and put them away, figuring that was that. It wasn't until a friend of a friend sent a copy to HUSH that any plans were made to release Canary to the world at large!
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