Sold as an electronic performer, I was surprised to hear what’s essentially another singer/songwriter whose voice is too good to end up at a farmers market. “Crumbs and Broken Shells” sounds like something Emily Lord would do, although I don’t know whether Sarah Fimm has any children. The album cover has no baby pictures.
I guess Sarah Fimm could be a Dot Allison/St. Etienne clone, except she isn’t. Nobody can sing as well as Allison, and St. Etienne doesn’t really focus on slow, plodding guitars. But what Fimm does do is great. She is just much better at expressing herself than explaining herself. “Violet” personifies this identity crisis, and she comes off as a lesser Kate Bush. The footsteps she is following require big feet, or something about shoes to fill. Either way, she’s screwed.
There’s another angle to take: Remember B-Tribe? She’s not as ambient as them. (B-Tribe actually weren’t ambient in the slightest, but their only hit was, so that’s what people think.) Fimm is actually too soulful for this comparison. I guess a nice way to say this is that she has a style all her own.
“To Be Alive” is a cross between Portishead and Olive’s slower stuff. Maybe it does have some electronic tendencies, but it’s not something I would have considered it to be on my own. “How Does It Feel” has lush melodies and fitting musical accompaniment. It is the most fundamentally sound track on the album.
You know who she sounds like? I got it. Sinead Lohan. No wonder I like this record so much.
I really enjoy this album, because it reminds me of a ton of disparate stuff that I like, but it doesn’t rip any of it off. I have a lot of respect for anyone who can do that.
