Lady Blackbird
Black Acid Soul
Foundation Music/BMG
Buy via Bandcamp | Listen Below
Los Angeles-based singer Lady Blackbird (a.k.a. Marley Munroe) is a name you’re going to want to remember. Despite still being young, her career has already had more than a hint of the familiar industry tales around stalled contracts and creative differences. Having heard her incredible voice in these intimate, mainly stripped-back circumstances, any notion of a stalled career seems ridiculous. How could a voice like this go relatively unheard?
Recorded at Sunset Sound in “Prince’s Studio” (III) with the help of GRAMMY nominated Chris Seefried (for his work with Andra Day), Black Acid Soul sees Blackbird perform seven cover songs and four original compositions to the accompaniment of Deron Johnson’s (who played with Miles Davis) sparkling piano and a handful of other fine musicians who weave a sparse musical backdrop for Blackbird to perform the songs against.
Leading with a Nina Simone cover (“Blackbird”) is the epitome of brave, but Lady Blackbird’s voice is a spine-tingling inducer of goosebumps. Beyond the luxurious tone and warmth of her vocal, though, lies great technique and a willingness to find the pain at the heart of the lyrics and manifest it quite spectacularly. The downward run at the end of the song descends to the very depth of her range and invokes the spirit of despair magnificently.
In general, the cover versions are more successful because of the quality of the songs, but even those original compositions demonstrate a singer destined for great things. Nowhere is her potential more recognizable than on the cover of Reuben Bell’s “It’s Not That Easy.” This slow-burning slice of dramatic heartbreak is achieved with the piano, bass, her vocals and the slightest hints of organ. As astonishing as her voice is on the song, there is a sense of restraint, like a tiger stalking the limits of its enclosure. Somehow not seeing her bare her teeth makes it all the more captivatingly powerful.
The breezy melancholy of “Fix It” and the jazzy “Ruler Of My Heart” ably demonstrate that same restraint and flutter by pleasingly before “Nobody’sSweetheart” shows Blackbird once again mining heartbreak to great effect. It is clear here that she resembles a warmer, fuller sounding Cassandra Wilson and that is no small praise. There is also a tender, ruminative trumpet solo from Trombone Shorty to light up the second half of the song.
Another highlight of the album is a cover of Sam Cooke’s “Lost And Looking.” Having had the courage to tackle Simone, taking on the genius Cooke’s work is another indicator of her confidence and ability. Here she goes for the same bare, stark accompaniment as Cooke and her voice is revelatory—it prowls and soars in equal measure, never far from ripping your heart out and stomping all over it. Johnson’s piano playing illuminates the second half of the song with his midnight mood evoking lovelorn stragglers at a late-night bar.
The only sign of a slightly more contemporary sound is on “Beware The Strange” and although her voice is still tremendous, it doesn’t evoke the same feelings that the more organic, sparse arrangements elicit from her. Another slight misstep is the final track, the titular “Black Acid Soul.” It seems slightly perverse to close the album out with an instrumental that neglects the star of the show: Lady Blackbird’s majestic voice.
Those two slight issues notwithstanding, this is an album that showcases a vital new vocal talent to the world, helped by the quality of the material she covers and the sympathetic accompaniments created by Seefried and the players.
Notable Tracks: “Blackbird” | “It’s Not That Easy” | “Lost And Looking” | “Nobody’s Sweetheart”
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