Salt to the Sea – Kelli Scarr Salt to the Sea – Kelli Scarr (Buy)
Kelli Scarr’s breathtakingly beautiful voice mimics what only I can picture an angel sounding like on her album Piece. She is a little bit Regina Spektor, a little bit Maria Taylor, and a little bit Feist. Scarr is also one of a kind with a little bit of a country folk background in many of her tracks, as well as a plethora of melancholy ballads on her album.
She is no stranger to producing great music as she has worked with Moby, graduated from Boston’s Berklee School of Music, and previously played in the band Moonraker. She has had the privilege of opening for Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene.
The beautifully constructed guitar chords charismatically “Come Back to Me” shows Scarr’s longing for a love that left her behind. A very stereotypical love song, however you can feel the pain in her voice. There is so much tranquility in her words, and Scarr shows her innate talent: “You said go back/ I can’t forget/All the things/We haven’t said.”
“Driftwood” is the most well produced song on the album and shows Scarr’s range of vocal talent. In this song particularly, she sounds like she could be a close relative of Cat Power. The lyrics do seem to be difficult to understand, however the song is upbeat and filled with dreamy vocals. “Pure Gold” shows Scarr’s dream-pop voice with a southern twang. The ballad is a solid testament to her talent. “How still the nighttime sky/Seen in the river as it floats on by/The river, separated us once couldn’t keep us from the gold.”
“The Wonder” is probably my favorite track on Scarr’s album. Like I felt when I first heard “The Park” by Feist, Scarr’s voice leaves me absolutely speechless. Its beauty stuns me and I can’t help thinking how a concert of Scarr’s would sound. “Salt to the Sea” begins with “come with me/We could be having such a good time/I could blow your mind.” The song is very tranquil however the opening lines are sultry and sophisticated, very similar to the sweetsy songs that Mirah composes put to sexually charged lyrics.
Piece is an audio photo album of Scarr’s life, which captivates the sounds of her acoustic guitar at midnight, the sounds of her son waking up after napping, and her piano. It is a beautiful and calming collection of songs that will lull anyone through a long summer’s day. I give it an 8.1.
