Sargent’s self-titled LP is a masterful debut into what I like to call “beautiful melancholy”. It is the type of music that makes you feel like you are walking Parisian streets and tussling between bitter and sweet memories. The band is composed of the Gretchen Lieberum, known as the other half of the Prince-inspired duo Princess, with Maya Rudolph. and The Killers’ Jake Blanton. Together they create tunes that manage to bring the sun down to the earth.They are whimsically light while grounded in dark undertones Yet, it is the elegance that sifts through Lieberum’s mournful voice that makes Sargent the epitome of saddened grace.
Light drumming, wistful piano melodies, and a voice that takes you into its embrace like a mother does her child, Sargent holds every key to make Lieberum a jazz queen. Although not classically trained, Lieberum proves that the foundation of a good musician is their heart. She is completely connected to jazz and downtempo music, and uses Sargent, named after her son, to reveal that the connection is powerful. Songs like Daisies and Echo Hill are hauntingly stunning as they make you think Lieberum has cracked the door open into your room of woefulness. As she steps in, rather than further your hurt, she creates songs that help you release them. Each note she hits is like a vase of roses she has placed in that room. Like a rose, her voice has the ability to enamor and cut you: it is both wondrous and prickly in sentiment.
I have to admit it. I am obsessed with this debut. Lieberum has been inspired by blues greats like, Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone, and Billie Holiday, and it can be noted in her creativity, Like these musical mavens, each song that Lieberum sings feels like it was caused by a spark and carried by the wind. They are fluid and completely unforced, which is why the whole LP feels like you drifted into a quick dream. I say quick because, at only 8 tracks, it goes too quickly for the lasting tranquility and insightfulness it offers. Tracks like Miracles And Light and Waltz literally embody overtime you stared outside the window and wondered. That’s it! You just stared and let your mind wander to whatever vision, emotion, or curiosity you felt needed to be dreamed for a bit. Still, despite my mentioning of melancholy as reason for this album’s attractiveness, I must elaborate that the record, itself, is a joy.
There is an innate mournfulness to Lieberum’s voice that makes her fit smoothly into the raw vulnerability of jazz. She just sounds open and free with her emotions throughout the album, and, at times, carries a rocker edge that ups her artist’s charm. My favorites song is You Always Hurt The Ones You Love. Next to Echo Hill, these two tracks carry the smoldering, sultry pain that made jazz singers like Simone and Holiday so famous. That ability to make your voice seethe with pain like it is simmering on a skillet is fascinating, and, in part, why Sargent carries a mutual freshness and vintage inspiration.
Sargent comes out September 16, and I would highly recommend it for jazz lovers that wish greats like Vaughan could reincarnate and remind us that a musical beat is nothing if not followed by a spiritual one. Sargent is, literally, a modern classic. To buy the self-titled LP and learn more about Sargent ClickHere. Also, PLEASE go out to see this wonderful band at Rockwood Music Hall on September 27. They will be as fantastic as this record.
