Allison Weiss has done pretty well for herself over in the US. Based in Brooklyn, New York, the indie-pop artist funded her first release in 10 hours on Kickstarter and was hand-picked by Lou Reed to be part of his back-up band on his European tour.
So, for her first release on No Sleep Records, Say What You Mean, expectations are set to be fairly high that the songstress will have produced a pretty superlative album.
What’s apparent on listening to Say What You Mean is that while Weiss is obviously a talented musician and clever lyricist, her music won’t necessarily blow you away with uniqueness. All in My Head, One Way Love, and Nothing Left, the first three tracks on the album, almost blend seamlessly into one song with how similar they sound: upbeat, catchy, hanging out in America in a teen movie circa 2000 rock. Think the majority of songs that make up soundtrack in 10 Things I Hate About You and you won’t be far off Weiss’s sound.
This uniformity makes the offbeat tracks stand out even more so; songs such as I Was an Island, which has a 50s feels to it (hum Beauty School Drop Out from Grease, and you’ll pretty much have the tune to this song down) and Wait For Me, a sweetly sad folk sounding song about long distance lovers. The song is a collaboration between an acoustic guitar and violins and conjures up a montage of said lovers gazing out of train windows as they make their way towards to each other.
Lyrically, Weiss is somewhat of a wordsmith. There is no doubt the album screams it is about ‘love’ of all varying kinds (unrequited, broken, long distance) and each song tells a different story that anyone can relate to. In some cases, Weiss sets the saddest situations against the catchiest melodies, most notably in How To Be Alone: she’s post break up keeping herself chipper, doing what the self help books tell her and reassuring everyone she’s fine, but ultimately, still pining for her lover on the inside. It makes the sentiment of the track all the more heartbreaking, and who can’t relate to that?
Weiss may not be peddling anything new, but her talent is fairly undeniable. Her music is safe and something you can put on in the back ground on a mates’ night in, but that isn’t a bad thing. We all need something you can just sing along to from time to time.
6/10
Standout Track: How To Be Alone
For fans of: Letters to Cleo, Avril Levigne
Written by: Rebecca Dark
