Natureboy

Natureboy (Own)

By Liz Schroeter Published: July 11th, 2010 | 7:00am

What stands out most about Natureboy’s eponymous debut is Sara Kermanshahi’s yearning vocals. Amid simple instrumentation, it’s her memorable voice, at once beautiful and ugly, that gives these nine songs power. In fact, her singing operates much like a second instrument, bending notes and adding languorous lines of reverberating melody. Delicately picked or gently strummed guitar melodies repeat gracefully behind the vocals, Kermanshahi’s backing band (Cedar Apffel and Rory O’Connor) providing additional instrumentation. The up-tempo “Pariah” and bittersweet “Heart to Fool”—the latter of which sounds like it could be a Cass McCombs song—are where the group’s collaborative efforts really shine.

The repeated guitar melodies give Natueboy’s songs a hypnotic, looping quality. At times this works successfully, the added layers building up intensity as the track progresses. Unfortunately, too many songs drift aimlessly into the background. A haunting mood is set as the tension in the sparse instrumentation builds, but the payoff never comes.

Still, the stirring intimacy of the album’s highlights shows promise for future releases and suggest that in a live setting, Kermanshahi would be quite captivating. Natureboy’s one act to keep your eyes on. (via Venus Zine: Natureboy)