Kittens Slay Dragons - Big Big Heart (2017)

OFFICIAL: http://kittensslaydragons.com/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/kittensslaydragons/

NEW MUSIC VIDEO -
Love is Surgery:  https://youtu.be/uLUjVFRQePk

STREAM: https://kittensslaydragons.bandcamp.com
 

Written by Craig Bowles, posted by blog admin

Kittens Slay Dragons is the electronic music project of singer/songwriter Sarah Donner and there’s no point during Big Big Heart when it sounds like a stylistic experiment. It sounds like a complete realized artistic and musical work that references Donner’s life in accessible ways and features songwriting that details others’ experiences as well. Despite the electronic nature of Big Big Heart, it never loses its warmth and heart – much of this is, surely, the result of Donner’s strengths as a melodic songwriter. She has an unique lyrical sensibility that serves the material well yet possess an understated conversational eloquence unlike many similar efforts in the style. The attitude infusing the songwriting is quite modern while still showing a complete mastery of fundamentals that supersede genre and sound – fundamentals that are, instead, the bedrock of popular song.

The first song “Gatekeeper” starts with a smattering of synth notes before a steady rhythm launches us off. Donner’s voice comes in soon after and, despite a light nasal quality to her tone, she sounds authoritative from the start and soon becomes the guiding emotional force of this release. Her approach to electronic music renders the form somewhat dreamlike – effects some to coalesce in Kittens Slay Dragons’ songs and the effect of the songwriting accumulates over time rather than arriving all at once. There’s a suggestion of the painter in this approach and she, indeed, uses the electronic instruments as conduits of color for these songs. “Smile Pretty” probably better embodies this than any other song on Big Big Heart. While Donner’s turn with this style shows off her talents for crafting direct, straight-forward numbers in this vein, this song shows her ability for going in a more atmospheric direction. It has a substantive lyrical message as well that she never communicates in a heavy handed way.

“Love Is Surgery” combines the straight-forward style with her more artful touches and succeeds. The multi-tracked vocals are a nice touch for a singer already possessing enough pipes alone to carry the material. The arrangement, likewise, has a patiently simmering quality. Minimalist verses build to an impassioned, well orchestrated chorus and the percussion does an excellent job mimicking the beat of a heart. The title song has some of the same patiently simmering qualities and Donner distinguishes herself with a flexible vocal capable of great sensitivity and towering emotional peaks. The insistent pulse beginning “Under the Waves” does a great job of scene setting before the synths join and Donner tackles the album’s sole duet. Her vocal partner wisely provides a counterpoint that accentuates his strengths while never attempting to supersede her importance to the song. It’s an interesting performance, as well, thanks to how it maintains such a restrained temperament throughout and yet hooks you into its web.

The album’s penultimate song, “Eggs”, has a muscularly soulful vocal from Donner and a rough-hewn arrangement quite different from anything else on Big Big Heart. The vocal melody stands out thanks to its cascading effect, but it’s the tension this song generates without ever quite exploding the way you expect that makes it especially notable. The song’s playful nature, as well, sets it at odds with the album’s finale “Head Down, Heart Up”. You can’t help but notice and admire the dogged determination behind the title, lyrics, and Donner’s exultant voice, but it’s a richer song for how it tacitly acknowledges that moments like this are products of struggle. Kittens Slay Dragons has produced one of the deeper, yet still faithful to the genre, electronic efforts you’ll ever hear. This is a songwriter behind this stuff, folks, and she makes every track count.

Grade: A-

Sarah Donner - Black Hole Heart (2016)

Website: https://www.sarahdonner.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahdonner/?hc_ref=SEARCH&fref=nf
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahdonner?lang=en

MUSIC VIDEO: (PHOENIX)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j13Jwyb-AnA

The beauty of real artistry in action is that it touches the heart through a combination of sincerity and simplicity. Few albums you’ll hear this year better embody that approach than Sarah Donner’s Black Hole Heart. Her interest in altruistic causes translates well into songwriting clearly manifesting a strong focus on storytelling and understanding what motivates human emotions. The dozen songs on this crowd-funded release aren’t the first from this important songwriting voice, but they rank high among her most clearly conceived efforts. Her musical style has often been referred to as pop-folk, but there are a number of moments on Black Hole Heart that are purist folk in its finest form and distinguished by a melodic directness that connects well with a wide audience rather than narrowly appealing to those hidebound by tradition. The musicianship on this release is quite strong and Donner’s performances are rendered with exquisite clarity by the production.

There’s a thematic consistency extending throughout the collection that gives it an additional cohesiveness. Her first song on Black Hole Heart, “Phoenix”, makes fine use of this timeless mythological story and it’s indicative of how well she occasionally uses common literary references to make larger points. This is where she introduces the album’s concept of imaginatively chronicling natural disasters and their effects on those who survive them – instead of being heavy handed, as all concepts have the potential to be, she artfully explores the theme. “Black Hole Heart” has much stronger pop music elements but they are brought into perfect accord with the spartan musical arrangement and everything comes off quite stylish without seeming too premeditated. Her voice is quite wonderful, but Donner’s intuitive understanding of her own gifts extends to a sharp ear for framing her voice in the best possible way with gentle and alluring vocal melodies. There’s a real hint of travail and struggle in the song and the sparse musical landscape is an ideal match for the material as it is elsewhere.

“Athena” is another strong musical character piece driven forward by a steady pace and sparkling mandolin work from Brad Sicote. She gives the song a little more bounce thanks to an equally sparkling vocal. The backing vocals on “The Longest Road” give it an ebullient demeanor quite unlike anything else on Black Hole Heart and it helps smooth over the rough edges inherent to the song’s narrative. The musical backing, once again, casts a bright light over listeners and keeps you involved from the first. “Big Big Heart” swells with a generous spirit of gratitude and deeper truths that never quell its very human spirit. There’s a very traditional grace infusing the album’s penultimate song “Sinking Ship” and the harmony vocals joining Donner’s voice at various points through the performance results in a priceless gem near the album’s conclusion. There are many riches in this collection and Sarah Donner’s heartfelt elegance never feels put on or overly affected. Black Hole Heart will win you over early and offers more than enough to keep you coming back for more.

Written by: William Cline

Grade: A