Happenstance [Content/Copy-Protected CD]

 

 

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Rachael Yamagata showcases the usual torch songs and melancholy break-up ballads offered by singer-songwriters on her first full-length album Happenstance. Nonetheless, the singer exudes a maturity and unique charm not often seen on today's popular music scene.

With an occasional idiosyncratic voice tic that can best be described as a guttural purr, Yamagata punctuates her sleepy voice with an endearing, vibrant quality.

Though much of Yamagata's lyrics are unremarkable, her phrasing and assured delivery bring the words to life.

In contrast to her simply titled short-length "EP" of 2003, Yamagata's 13 tracks (plus a hidden 14th) exhibit a more varied range of style. For instance, the opening track, "Be Be Your Love" begins with a persistent and roving syncopated beat that is catchy and likable, eventually soaring to a close with french horn accompaniment. "Letter Read" follows with a more aggressive, rocking tone. Baritone sax, drums, and bass guitar and piano notes back Yamagata in this second track as she intones, "My love, my love, my love/ you're not enough for me."

"I Want You" has a surprising showtime-swing aura that lends a pleasing quality to the otherwise infatuated stalker-esque lyrics: "I want you/ or no one/ no one else will do/ you, or no one."

Two songs from "EP," "Worn Me Down" and "Reason Why" reappear on Happenstance. "Worn" returns with added propulsive back beats that seem intended to add a more traditional pop feel that ultimately detracts from the simpler, heart-felt original version. On the other hand, "Reason Why" emerges unscathed from major modifications so remains melancholy and still achingly true.

Near the end of the disc is "Moments with Oliver," a sweet lullaby of a song--wordless with just a string arrangement written by Yamagata and performed by the eponymous Oliver.

Following "Moments" is perhaps the best sample of the disc. "Quiet" is aptly named, a tender song in which Yamagata whispers, "All the waves of blame arrange as broken scenery...And it'll be as quiet when I leave/ As it was when I first got here/...I don't expect anything to change when I leave."

Minutes after "Quiet" is a hidden acoustic track that where Yamagata's lazy growl and a falsetto delivery add to the intimate, off-the-cuff atmosphere of the song.

Overall, Happenstance is a solid first full-length debut from Yamagata. Less mainstream pop, yet still palatable, the disc is worth a listen as well as subsequent plays.

I first stumbled across Rachael Yamagata when browsing the "used" bins of my favorite music store. Then I came across an EP with a pretty young woman, wearing a sloachy sweater and leaning on a chain-link fence. It had the grittier look of an atypical pop album, and the music backed it up -- as soon as I heard Yamagata's singing, I knew that she was a future hitmaker.

Her full-length debut "Happenstance" just shows that I was completely right. Without sounding repetitive, former electrofunk singer Yamagata follows similar musical turf, exploring saddening love in all its dimensions, with her husky voice and piano-pop sound.

It opens on a piano-jazzy number with "Letter Read," which is the best song that Fiona Apple never sang. In fact, the whole album has a similar flavour, albeit a sadder one, with Yamagata chastising lovers for betrayals, lamenting the distance between them, and telling them how "everybody's talkin' how I can't can't can't be your love/ but I want want want to be your love."

Along the way, she delves into snarly indierock ("she's so pretty/she's so damn right/but I'm so tired of thinking about her tonight!"), melancholy acoustic ballads, piano numbers that sound like they were recorded on a rainy day, and jazzy pop.

In "1963," Yamagata takes a break into 60s-style pop and sunny love affairs, announcing, "I find it to be magical/I feel like I'm lovin' you in 1963/Flowers in my hair/little bitty hearts upon my cheek/baby you'll be on my mind/till I kiss you next time." And the Japanese version of this album also has an extra track from her debut EP: "Collide," a melancholy, cello-laden song.

Even touring with Gomez and Liz Phair, Yamagata was relatively little-known before "Happenstance" came out. But her work has a raw, smoky quality that many twenty-something pop stars can only dream on. Listening to these, it's easy to imagine being in a dark club, listening to Yamagata up on a stage.

One of the rare things about Yamagata is that her age is indefinably just by listening to her -- she could be anywhere from fifteen to fifty. Yamagata does bump up against her vocal limitations in "Letter Read"; she sounds very strained in the chorus. At least it's assuring that her voice was untouched by computers. Most of the time, though, she sounds like an indiepop version of Norah Jones -- smoky, smooth and very pretty.

Yamagata -- who wrote most of the songs, and cowrote the others -- plays the piano in her assorted songs, as well as a bit of keyboard and synth. And she is backed up by a very talented band that weaves some extra instrumentation behind her, using drums, bass, guitars and sometimes the cello in a way that is startlingly soft.

Yamagata's poignant full-length debut makes her sound like Fiona Apple's sadder little sister. It's a collection of melancholy and heartbreak, wrapped up in piano tunes. An underrated little gem.

I just purchased this CD and haven't been able to stop listening. Give it a try!

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4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing...shows promise, without a doubt
I came across Rachael Yamagata through a magazine..cant remember which but anyway, they wrote a short article about her. one day i was @ Borders & found her cd.. Read more

Published on July 17 2004 by Bianca Nicholette

3.0 out of 5 stars Shows promise
I've been following Rachael since her Bumpus days in the mid-90s. When I saw she was no longer in the lineup, I did some research and discovered she had embarked on a solo career... Read more

Published on July 10 2004 by B. Patrick

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful album from a fresh talent
Rachael Yamagata has been compared to many female artists -- you can hear a hint of Fiona Apple, Lizzie West, Natalie Merchant, and Erin McKeown in her voice. Read more

Published on July 9 2004 by Jessica R. Costello

3.0 out of 5 stars promising "maiden voyage"; looking forward to more
As a musician and a fan of well executed and produced music, it's hard for me not to like this album. Read more

Published on July 9 2004 by isaac

4.0 out of 5 stars Kinda like Fiona Apple - only optimistic
Her voice is a lot like Fiona's. Dark, smoky, the fluctuations in her voice telling almost more the story than the words themselves. Read more

Published on July 6 2004 by S. Thompson

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you, Rachael!
My first experience with Rachaels music was at a live show in Boulder,CO when she opened for the band Gomez. Rachael Yamagata? Read more

Published on July 4 2004 by Andrea Wayland

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good
The first thing I noticed about Rachael is that she sounds a lot like Fiona Apple, but not in a bad way. She doesn't sound like she's ripping her off, which is good. Read more

Published on July 1 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars Hard to put into words
A very appropriate title to an album filled with chance and unforeseen circumstance, one might also call it serendipity. Read more

Published on Jun 29 2004 by Sam Martin

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Start
This is a really good full length debut from Rachael Yamagata. Reminds me of Shea Seegers' debut about three years back, "The May Street Project. Read more

Published on Jun 20 2004 by JBT

5.0 out of 5 stars A new fan
I saw her opening for Liz Phair at Roseland Ballroom in NYC and was amazed. Such a unique and memorable voice! I bought her EP and thought it couldn't get any better... Read more

Published on Jun 18 2004

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