Thalia Zedek is an artist of immutable stature and unceasing vitality. The legendary songwriter’s fiery voice and frank lyricism give her songs both their emotional potency and their stark beauty. Zedek is able to distill complex events into simple, clear, and at times monumentally weighty moments with a singular grace. Through ballads or bluster, Zedek imbues her music with unguarded honesty. New album Perfect Vision examines the anxiety and pain of rising divisions between people both physical and ideological. On Perfect Vision, Zedek transmutes fervor and resilience into sobering laments, while her lush arrangements wrap the listener in an often complex emotional message.
One way or another, Sarah Borges connects with casual mastery. Whether it’s with the comrades she’s collaborated with over nearly 20 sparkling years of music-making, or the vivid portraits of people’s lives – and occasionally her own – she’s sketched in scores of emotionally resonant songs. But most of all, Borges has built a loyal following by connecting, through her own charismatic, down-to-earth spirit, with her audience – whether they’re longtime fans from back when she broke through with her terrific “Silver City” debut in 2004, or newcomers just now joining the party.
Field Day formed proverbially, in a basement, and unexpectedly, when its members were well into middle age. Joan Anderman was a neophyte, having left her longtime post as rock critic at The Boston Globe and set out to become a songwriter. Her former Globe colleague Dan Zedek, veteran of numerous college bands, was sitting on a stash of songs written in his head while riding the train to work. The band’s original drummer John Kehe offered his gear-filled basement for weekend song circles. The chemistry was potent. These songs and these songwriters belonged together. With the addition of bassist Larla O’Halloran and drummer Chuck Hargreaves, Field Day has become an unlikely upstart on the Boston club scene, playing rock music with scrappy hooks, dreamy harmonies, and irrepressible spirit.
