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Jeri Silverman

Leaflike

Review by Gary Hill

There is a gentle beauty to this set. It also showcases a lot of artistry. Jeri Silverman’s voice is quite pretty and capable of delivering emotion and power, while still maintaining a vulnerability. The music is in the folk meets pop vein. Comparisons to acts like Suzanne Vega, Rickie Lee Jones and others are appropriate. If there is a problem here it’s that there isn’t quite enough variety. Sure, there are changes from song to song, but the variance in terms of tempo and volume level isn’t very wide even when you take all the tracks into consideration. That makes it feel a bit samey. It still stands tall, but part of that is the fact that’s it’s not as lengthy as a full album. Going forward, Sliverman would do well to bring some differing tempos and volume levels into play.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2016  Volume 3 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review
Anywhere But Here

Folk music, electronica and modern pop rock all merge here. This is artistic and creative. It’s also passionate. I love the changes in the song structure. The vocal performance really sells it, too. The multi-layered vocal arrangement is great.

G & A
In some ways this makes me think of the kind of thing Rickie Lee Jones might do. The arrangement here is more stripped back than the one on the opening piece. There is more of a prominent percussion element here. The powered up chorus is lush, though.
The Fever
There is no big change here. This is another folk styled pop song. It’s much in line with things like Suzanne Vega to me. It definitely has electronic things going on within the arrangement, too.
Rabbit
This is a bit more on the sparse side. It has a folk sound to it for sure. It’s catchy and rather fun, though. It really has quite a bit of energy.
Dreams
Percussion leads this off, and the vocals join over the top of that with no other instrumentation. This is a cover of the Fleetwood Mac classic. Sliverman’s vocals work really well on this. Other instruments get added after the first verse. This is a great interpretation, bringing the same sort of sounds heard on the rest of the set to this piece. The chorus, though, feels quite a bit like the original song. This is a highlight of the EP. It’s not so much because it’s a lot stronger than the rest. It’s just that it lends some variety.
Leaflike
I love the playful musical intricacies here. This song also brings some variety and stands tall. There is an almost classical air here along with some hints of world music.
 
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