Liverpool Sound and Vision * * * *
Melancholy is the appreciation of art that you cannot allow your heart to feel, that you immerse yourself into the Kitchen Sink drama because your soul will not take comedy seriously, the love of Blues and the sadness of stirring string symphonies is there because Jazz has no meaning except for those willing to dance and delight in perpetual joy.
Melancholy is a state of mind in which truth is revealed, the personality of understanding that stories have a place in the world that are not always resolved with a smile, that songs, especially those immersed in the pursuit of recounting someone’s life, are better served when some sorrow is unearthed, after all, it is to be suspicious when all around you is grinning like a Cheshire Cat.
The art of such a sound is in persistence, in seeking out the meaning of the way the art makes you feel, and in Oh Susanna’s beautifully arranged and true grit driven album, Sleepy Little Sailor, the softness and perceived introverted nature of the song and thoughts, are actually but a lion’s roar withstanding the call in which many are urged to quell. Nobody should ever feel as if they have to be quiet, that their words and thoughts are invaluable, and even the saddest tale must be taken on board lest we have no gauge in which to check our own emotions later on.
It is with such gracious faith that Suzie Ungerleider and her alter ego of Oh Susanna have provided such enormity of spirit across the board in the album, and as tracks such as I’ve Got Dreams To Remember, All That Remains, Sacrifice, St. Patrick’s Day, and the addition of several sensual offerings of acoustic versions of a few of those songs, as well as River Blue, Kings Road and the album title track, Sleep Little Sailor, all make this particular album one of haunting passion that has been let loose upon the conscious of the listener; one that is not afraid to allow depth to be enhanced by the sensation of moving introspection.
Forthright, magical in its appreciation of the melancholic device, Oh Susanna’s Sleepy Little Sailor is poignant in its search for truth.
Oh Susanna releases Sleepy Little Sailor on September 4th on MVKA.
Ian D. Hall