Eclectic Consciousness Music. One of the most original and elegant appoaches by any artist to derivative art--musical pastiche.

4 MP3 Songs
POP: Folky Pop, ROCK: Funk Rock



Details:
Over the 2005 New Year's weekend, Ms. Mitchell took her rhythm section and a 3 month new violinist to a cottage in Michigan to record live what has become the staple product in selling their alive show. "It should be called an alive show--people don't go out to see self-absorbed stiffs up on stage; that's not what we do--we'll sing and dance till someone falls off the stage--usually it's our drummer--spontaneous combustion, you know."

With both old material and previously unreleased material on the album, she explains the choice by saying, "I chose songs that seemed to have been requested the most over the years. I'll never really know why these tunes ring with people, but sometimes resurrecting old stuff is appropriate when you've got competent musicians giving them so much interesting life."

There's the humorous tune, "Hey You" that constantly contradicts itself, alternating between Judas Priest heavy and baroque salon sections, at once yelling at a shadow while giving polite reminders as to how it ought to be treated. "These are little instructional songs that help you invite the demons over for tea and tell you how they should be served."

"What If," the lead-off track cuts right to the quick with a funky ferocity needling you to engage in a game of Question.
"I don't purport to have any answer, but I think I'm really good at refining questions so that they're asked more intelligently. I think I'll put a paperclip in my eye if I hear a "Why-Me?" song once more in this lifetime."

"Vessel" is a song that, in live shows, is dedicated to those whom have died and come back to life. Though some audience members are turned off by the morbid humor, Gwen engages in it constantly throughout this too-brief EP: should we laugh? How seriously ought this to be taken? Four songs are over before one really knows for certain.

Yet what makes this band so promising, challenging, and quirky is that no matter how uncertain you come away from the music feeling, if you get the joke, you're "in the club." If you know how to laugh at most of life, then you'll likely be hooked on all of this young woman's work.