Rachael Yamagata is one of those artists it's okay to fall asleep to while listening to her music. Not because it's boring (unless you incorrectly equate "slow" with "boring"); her songwriting is comforting, careful and intimate - and her voice matches these qualities perfectly. In fact, her vocals are more consistent and maybe even more mature this time around. It's been four years since Happenstance (her first studio album) and her songwriting has seemed to find a balance between soft pop-rock (and I use all three terms very loosely) and even softer, richer lullabies (I'm thinking of "Meet Me By the Water" from Happenstance and "Over and Over" from Elephants...). That being said, Rachael is definitely not the artist to listen to while you're driving down the freeway (at least not in my 2000 Saturn that rattles); she was amazing live in Seattle (at a small venue off Madison called Chop Suey) and amazingly, she sounds just as personal and incredible with earbuds. Her melodies are just as beautiful, brilliant and inspiring as her first album and EPs, though perhaps not as experimental (as "Collide" or "Under My Skin"). I think the highlights are "Sidedish Friend", "What If I Leave", "Pause The Tragic Ending" and "Sunday Afternoon". Rachael could stop creating new music today and I would still think she contributed something truly unique and heartfelt to the musical canon, but of course, I hope she releases many, many more albums.
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