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Mol Sullivan is a singer songwriter from
Cincinnati, OH. I have mentioned elsewhere how
this area is part of my greater ethnic
homeland, and since then I have noticed more
artists from the area appearing in my Promo
Feed. Is this some kind of algorithm thing, or
are promo people sending me more releases from
the Ohio valley, or maybe I am just noticing
them enough to think it is a pattern?
At any rate, this is a nice record. Ms.
Sullivan makes pretty little pop tunes. She's
not reinventing anything, but there is plenty
to enjoy here.
The record kicks off with Still Tryin',
a fun little song with acoustic guitar and a
medium tempo. She has some clever wordplay
that rewards paying attention to the lyrics.
For Cannonball Sullivan is at the
piano. She sings with a hint of twang and is
joined by pedal steel. This song reminds me of
Wednesday
-- i guess it's the pop/country thing.
Goose goes back to the acoustic, her
voice sounding playful as she strums. There is
a fun little piano bit in the background. She
follows this up with Eggshells,
another bouncy piano tune. For some reason,
her voice seems very young here. The horns
that come in at the end are a nice effect.
On Like This Now the piano (?)
clatters in a manner that I associate with the
harpsichord – a really clanging, string heavy
piano-y sound. I suppose it is some kind of
effect, or a synthesizer … or maybe she does
have this Medieval instrument. At any rate, it
shakes things up to nice effect.
Ask starts with a horn echoing over
strummed guitar, before the voice comes in to
float alongside the guitar. The song is faint
and pretty, with the horns being layered in
and then fading out to nice effect.
There is a hint of Hawaii as Sullivan strums
what sounds like a ukelele on Cautiously.
The electric guitar that accompanies her adds
a slightly country layer. Her voice is odd
here, really twisting the vowels.
Only Once is a nice slow piano tune
with some faint horns. On Lamb she adds a
flute to her strummed guitar and delicate
voice. Eventually the drums come in, she slips
on the electric, strings churn, and she sings
forcefully. This song develops nicely.
A strange kind of see-sawing sound (a looped
voice maybe) serves as percussion on Marrying
Type, as she plays a staccato piano,
guitar, and sings. This is an odd song,
vaguely unsettling and also the longest song
here at 6:28. The overall effect is
melancholy.
And then Sullivan wraps things up with
echoing piano on the lovely Biting Your
Teeth , a nice song to end the album.
Apparently Ms. Sullivan has been making music
for a decade or so, and yet this is her debut
record. Well, judging by the music here, she
has spent her time honing her craft. This is a
solid record of light, interesting pop music.
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