Music is a funny thing. And more often than not music chooses you and not the other way around. What I mean is, although we are constantly inundated with tons of music. An almost endless deluge of sound, some voices rise above. Revealing, only certain songs, or bodies of work, really reach and speak to us in tomes of soul-speak. And, if you approach music with any degree of discernment you’re not easily seduced by trends, or by what someone else claims is the next big thing.
With singer-songwriter Natalie Prass the music reaches you by cutting through to the heart of what makes a song special. Delivery and emotion. When Ms. Prass open her mouth listeners are rewarded immediately by the two most important elements of song writing; song structure, and delivery, and in this case a beyond beautiful singing voice.
Funny thing, I came to know how Natalie Prass by way of a serendipitous occurrence. No lie. Recently, I was provided with an advance copy of songs to review by a band I (Cherub) really respect and like a lot. And one of those songs on their forthcoming album features Ms. Natalie Prass. And although I imagine there were a lot of people who could have potentially sung the lyrics on their song, these guys had the good sense, and taste, to pick the best person for the job. Because, what Natalie brought to this particular song was a large bit of tenderness and an ethereal voice. Which turned my heart into a pool of melted reddish jelly. I played the song over and over, at least 3-4 times before I snapped out of it and performed a Google search on her name and hit the jackpot; I found her Bandcamp and Facebook pages, then her website natalieprass.com.
First, I came upon the song “Earth Angel,” and just as soon as it pricked my ear like the soft muzzle of newborn foal, I was seduced. This sweet revisitation of an old classic is nicely done(understatement). But then I listened to the song “Bird Of Prey,” from Natalie’s Sense of Transcendence EP (2011) and I’ve been playing it pretty much non-stop. The song really comes alive when she plays an acoustic set on the video below after the jump.
What a perfect song for our Sunday Best pick and an ideal song to unfurl the morning. My advice, Get your ears on any and everything associated with Natalie Prass. She can do no wrong, musically speaking that is. Song birds are a dime a dozen, but birds of paradise are a rare breed. Peace. Continue reading “Natalie Prass // Bird Of Prey (Video) Our Sunday Best”
