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Polly
Paulusma - Scissors In Pocket (One Little Indian)
Released: September, 2004
A year or so ago, I spent most
of a week - and a very nice weekend - in London. Playing with the radio, I
found Michael Parkinson's Sunday program (programme?) on BBC's Radio Two.
He played Stacey Kent, who I already liked; and Michael Bublé, who I liked
immediately. When I returned, I was delighted to discover that I could
hear the program on this side of the pond over the Internet. And so, one
Sunday morning, Parky played "Dark Side," from an album he said would be
released soon, by Polly Paulusma.
As I listened, the little hairs on my neck stood up. That hasn't happened
in a very long time. I sat close at a Carole King concert once in 1976 -
and I heard Melanie Safka ("Brand New Key") up close at a radio station I
worked at in 1970, when I was 17. That was a very long time ago.
And that's a very long way to get to this point. "Scissors In My Pocket"
is the kind of hand-crafted package one just doesn't hear any more. From
the hand-drawn illustrations in the liner notes (no Photoshop generated
crap here), to the guitar, to the piano, to the voice. This is the work of
a master of the craft.
That particular Sunday morning, I dropped by Ms. Paulusma's website,
signed up for the newsletter, dropped her a note, and got a personal reply
before the radio program was over. And that's what this disc is. It's
personal. It feels personally made...for you. Or you. Or me.
There aren't any slick marketing people involved in this effort - yet. No
pretentious overdubs, no banks of synthetic swoosh. Mostly, it's Ms.
Paulusma's voice, a voice that cadre of off-key whining women so dominant
on alternative radio need to be using as their North Star. It's spot on,
it's intense, it's full of everything they lack - passion, feeling,
humanity. It's Carole, and it's Melanie, and it's Joni - but if her voice
triggers memories of the former masters of this genre (and it does), it's
also very much Polly. I'm learning that means that it's both familiar and
different, and that's a very good thing.
"Dark Side" is haunting and beautiful. "Over The Hill" has a great hook
(the part you hum over and over), and it's bouncy and fun. "Mea Culpa" is
one of those really moody, really beautiful songs that I thought I had
figured out, but I'm still not sure. "Give It Back" ought to be the hit;
it breaks up the thoughtful, smart, but mostly introspective stuff. It's
rousing, and it's got that "good beat - easy to dance to" groove going on.
So. In a perfect world, Ms. Paulusma will now get picked up by some major
label. They'll lay the marketing on thick, and this stuff will get the
attention it so richly deserves. Two or three well-received albums later
(and a lot of lush, over-production from those marketing types),
many of us will complain about how she's "sold out."
But then, she'll "return to her roots," a whole lot richer, and will give
us goose bumps again.
A happy ending for all of us.
One can hope. This is a
very strong disc.
I paid an import price just to get this one into my collection. Good
news for colonists - US release at local prices is set for September 14.
  Three
and a half microphones (out of four)
- Doug Boynton
(08/27/04) |
