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ALLISON SCOLA  ( & band )

The Baggot Inn        New York City

December 6, 2001

by Roxanne Blanford

 ( www.music-reviewer.com  January 2002 )

"...Don’t want to work today
Fight my way through the crowds
Answer all those telephone calls
When I wish I was in the clouds"

“Blackbird Outside”
Allison Scola - Staying Right Here

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“..After a year working in advertising, I realized that I couldn't stomach a life not dedicated to pursuing my passion for being a songwriter and performer….”

Allison Scola (www.allisonscola.com)

 

On the surface, singer/songwriter Allison Scola could be just about anyone.But on the inside, she is a woman with a burning passion. Possessed with an unassuming grace, an earnest and open demeanor, this classically trained New Englander (now a New Yorker), gave up a promising career in advertising to pursue her first love: Music. And on a cold evening in early December, Allison graced the Baggot Inn stage with her newly formed band (as of September 2001), and warmed the chilly hearts of New Yorkers with her melodic and moving piano- driven songs.

The Baggot Inn is a medium-sized music venue, tucked away behind New York University, complete with bar and cozy tables lining the floor before the stage. A pretty cozy and intimate setting, just right for Allison Scola’s brand of emotional pop. The auburn-haired lass took the stage adorned in a fetching black lace stretch top and casual slacks. The look was a perfect complement to her shoulder-length tresses and playful eyes.

Opening with the title track off her October 2001 debut, “Staying Right Here”, a short and pleasant Burt Bacharach-like tune about finding true love, Allison set the mood immediately. Direct and honest, her singing is comforting and all-embracing, like being in the presence of your long lost best friend. Allison made eye contact with the audience at every opportunity, a gesture that is assuredly sincere and not a gimmick. It’s simply indicative of the person she is and it makes her lyrical rendering all the more accessible- as if her songs are all sung for you and you alone.

Allison’s affinity for writing touching, dreamy lyrics can be attributed to her self-admitted admiration for Sarah McLachlan , Kate Bush, and Carole King. But Allison has a special place in her heart for the late Laura Nyro, one of pop music's purest innovators, a native New Yorker, and a prolific singer/composer whose work has been covered by artists ranging from Barbra Streisand to Blood, Sweat and Tears. Allison’s craft is similar to that of Nyro, in that she writes intricate, almost mystical lyrics, fusing jazz, lite soul and ‘70s pop into a delicate tapestry of beautiful music. When Allison sings “Love Always", as she did at the Baggot Inn, one can’t help but be captivated. Now, New York is a tough town, and getting the attention of a New York crowd is an awesome feat. But Allison’s smooth, lush presentation actually succeeded in silencing this usually chatty audience.

“Love Always” was delivered as an extreme ballad, enrapturing and revealing with profound lyrics (.."he signed the card, “Love Always”, though he never said it before/So my nightly dreams are what they seem/ Not a love I can ignore..”). This was an intriguing contrast to “Can’t You Hear Me”, a primarily acoustic-inflected number with a bongos-intro and raw, frank sensuality. 

Crystal clear vocals creep up your spine as Allison sings this appeal with subtle, yet undeniable passion. Tori Amos couldn’t have done it better. And when she set herself behind the keys to deliver the robust “See Only Me”, visions of Carole King came readily to mind, but Allison’s voice is immensely more amenable and sweeping. 

A 50-minute set was just too short to fully explore all the music Allison Scola has within. And if there is any fairness in this world at all, her star will continue to shine and grow even brighter. During a brief talk after her arresting set, Allison told me, “Life is not worth living unless I can make music. This is what I breathe”. Well, let’s hope that the heavens are kind and Allison Scola gets to make music to her heart’s complete content.

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Better Days

The Living Room
84 Stanton Street - New York City
November 2, 2001

by Roxanne Blanford

 

New York City-based Better Days is better known as a melodic, moving and mesmerizing modern rock band. But when they appeared as a 3 piece at New York's acoustic showcase venue, The Living Room, these talented guys didn't lose a thing.  If anything, they were sonically punctuated with a heightened emotional and intimate depth. Playing without a drummer, in a venue that seats less than 70 patrons, (in a speakeasy, coffee bar-like atmosphere), Better Days achieved a stellar, compelling presence in their first acoustic show in over a year. They played songs from their two released discs (LEAVING THE BLUE, and SOMEDAY YOU'LL GROW UP), while slipping in the occasional surprising, and as yet unrecorded numbers ( such as "I Live") to a thrilled local audience. When the band opened with "High and Low", they effortlessly gave new meaning to the word 'mellifluous'. The ever-popular "Romeo", a song that paints its sentiments in impressionistic sounds and words, was arrestingly poignant in its studied chord structures and reflective lyrics. Mark Flaherty is an amazing songwriter, with a graceful and commanding delivery that had this usually jaded New York City crowd stunned into silent admiration. Speaking of command, Better Days exhibits a self-effacing, 'gosh-we're-not-worthy' demeanor they should really lose, and fast. Humility is nice, but for a band THIS good, Better Days can afford to be a little more cocky. Their set alternates between deeply felt meditations ("Invisible", "2 O'Clock") to sunny riffs and happy choruses ("One and Only", All Around Me", "Sunday Morning") and back again to universal ruminations. During the show (performed before a friendly, packed room), Mark Flaherty commented and nearly apologized about the abundance of 'sad' songs in the band's repertoire. But Better Days is a tremendous treat in all its vagaries -- high or low. Some bands just make easy listening music. Better Days makes sweet listening music.With uplifting rhythms, heart-string-tugging grooves and stirring two-part harmonies, (Flaherty supported by the falsetto vocals of acoustic guitarist Thomas Zoranski), Better Days is like comfort food for the ears. And at times such as now, we could all use a little more comfort. Mark my words: There is something undeniably special about this little local band. And as they begin to tour and perform outside New York City, winning new fans and expanding their sphere, more people will soon know of what I speak , and that can only lead to better days for music lovers the world over.