Two Reviews Of

Self Titled
(Squint Entertainment)

by Darren Paltrowitz

Their name may give off signs of a reserved presence, their image may be subtle and low-key, but the sound of Squint Entertainment's Sixpence None The Richer is a turbulent and richly textured amalgam. Having taken their name from a C.S. Lewis story, the feelings expressed on this album are poetic and powerful, as would be expected. Although rather laid back and slow, on the lead-off track "We Have Forgotten," the ethereal vocal quality of Leigh Nash and reverberating instrumentation will immediately grab your attention. Her unique and powerful sound is certainly one of the best I've heard in recent years.

The twelve songs on this album flow both gently and beautifully into one another. In fact, the first three songs on this album flow into one another so perfectly that one may not realize that they are in fact three different songs, despite their varying melodies and tempos. Next is "Kiss Me," an upbeat tune which sounds like a cross between 10,000 Maniacs/solo Natalie Merchant, The Cardigans, and Sarah McLaughlin.

MATT SLOCUM DALE BAKER LEIGH NASH

..the ethereal vocal quality of Leigh Nash and reverberating instrumentation will immediately grab your attention. Her unique and powerful sound is certainly one of the best I've heard in recent years.

Featured as the first single from the "She's All That" soundtrack, "Kiss Me" has been generating both critical and commercial success, buzzing among top radio stations of varying formats for months. The fifth track called "Easy To Ignore" shows a bit of resemblance to Lisa Loeb's "It's Over," while retaining originality in its syncopated rhythm. Bringing the album into it's half-point is "Puedo Escribir," a number which takes its lyrics from a work by poet Pablo Neruda. The music, composed by the band, displays an affinity for Spanish classical guitar with Nash's often angelic crooning sounding much like that of Lili Haden.

While many albums slack off and lose their feel in their latter tracks, Sixpence None The Richer proves, again, to be no cliché. The Pink Floyd-esque feel to "The Lures Of My Earth" will surely leave you with a swaying feel. Others songs like "Sister, Mother" and the bass- heavy "Love" both show great single potential. Album closer "Moving On" emotionally declares, "I will not let them ruin me, I will not let them ruin me again."

Strong musicianship plays a major role the sound of "Sixpense None The Richer," thanks in a large part to Matt Slocum, who created all of the string arrangements and wrote nearly all the songs. His guitar and cello instrumentation are additional significant contributions to the defining quality of the sound. Clearly, he played an essential role in the making of this album. Recently departed drummer/percussionist Dale Baker provides a captivating backbeat -- notable but never overbearing. Bassist J.J. Plasencio completes the ever-solid rhythm section. He plays both walking bass lines and grooves alongside chord progressions.

Veteran studio musicians John Mark Painter (DC Talk, Indigo Girls, Ben Folds Five) and Antoine Silverman (Garth Brooks, Collin Raye, The Mavericks) contribute instrumentation ranging from violin and mellotron to trumpet and the hurdy gurdy. Producer Steve Taylor and Engineer/Mixer Russ Long, who alternated with Bob Clearmountain (The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Paul McCartney), have done an excellent job, possibly the best they've worked on to date. Although released last year, "Sixpense" has been a bit of a sleeper, until now. If given the promotion it deserves, this album looks to be among the winners of 1999.

REVIEW TWO:
SIXPENCE NONE THE RICHER

by Greg Mitchell

Sixpence None the Richer is an Austin, Texas trio whose pleasant song structures, rich earthy guitars and sweet John Cale on prozac viola sway and lilt like cat o' nine tails to the gentle breeze of Leigh Nash's Natalie Merchant -cum- Harriet Wheeler vocals.

Sixpence None the Richer, the band's third album, is a collection of songs wondering and wandering through the autumn woods of Slocum's heart & soul, with crisp fallen leaves crunching underfoot.

But don't get out the incense & patchouli just yet - there's more going on here than long granola skirts, Gap turtlenecks and sun flowers. For Sixpence and their brooding, introspective songwriter / guitarist Matt Slocum, those sun flowers are dead, dried and pressed in a book of memories and reflections that question his worth as an artist and human, and aren't so much depressing as they are resigned to their ennui & never ending spiritual journey.

For Sixpence and their brooding, introspective songwriter / guitarist Matt Slocum, those sun flowers are dead, dried and pressed in a book of memories and reflections that question his worth as an artist and human, and aren't so much depressing as they are resigned to their ennui & never ending spiritual journey.

Sixpence None the Richer, the band's third album, is a collection of songs wondering and wandering through the autumn woods of Slocum's heart & soul, with crisp fallen leaves crunching underfoot. Lyrics like "This is my forty-fifth depressing tune / They're looking for money as they clean my womb" illustrate the discontent and soul-searching evident through most of the record. As Nash sighs over Slocum's existential musings on love ("I Can't Catch You"), life ("Love") and of course, misery ("I Won't Stay Long"), the band creates an atmosphere like the more brooding & mournful moments on Counting Crows August and Everything After, while making the sound their own with a warm melodic blend of mellotron, cello and viola.
On the brighter moments, like the effervescent "Kiss Me", the band sounds almost jubilant - restrained, but nevertheless grateful for a moment of light atmosphere before the mood slips back into it's bittersweet rainy-day doldrums.