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Anything 'produced, recorded, and mixed" by Bill Racine has probably got something strong going for it...and sure enough, this L.A. songbird has talent. Whether on piano or whispery guitar, her gorgeous throat, not far removed from fellow LaLa nightengale Miranda Lee Richards, is as reassuring as a mother's to a sick baby.
Meanwhile, Racine lends some of the "spooky" background-shimmery ambiance that helped make the first Rogue Wave LP such a standout, while putting Meyer's gossamer voice right in your room like his work with Ride's Mark Gardener and The Comas. When subdued cello or church organ are added, Meyer's supernatural chamber pop falls into the hallowed realm of 4AD fodder too. Talent and great production is a combo that still can't miss.
-Jack Rabid - Jack Rabid
It's Spooky To Be Young is the new sophomore album from LA-based musician Meredith Meyer. The album was produced by Bill Racine (Rogue Wave, Mates Of State).
The songs on It's Spooky are for the most part mellow affairs. String arrangements and deft programming create an eerie breeze that wafts through the songs. Subtle percussion, like the "Bela Lugosi's Dead" tap on "All Those Pictures" adds to the shivers.
The strongest tracks on the record are the ones that feature the programming most prominently. That's because it shows that Meyer is a more multi-dimensional than the expected woman-with-a-piano stereotype that we get of female singers. The processed whirl of album opener, the title track, slaps you in the face and makes you pay attention to that fact.
The big flashy beat of the gloomy yet catchy "Ain't It Divine" proves this again, while the Dresden Doll-like cabaret of "The Mystery Waltz" hammers that note again.
Meyer's vocals are lovely, but not exceptional. It's her slightly creepy lyrics that combine with the music to make her work stand out. That's definitely the case with "Video Game Girl", a track that should be required listening for every adolescent boy about to get his first girlfriend...or for every 20-something who refuses to break from his X-Box.
There are points when Meyer gets a little bit too mellow on us. As a result songs like "A Thousand Dandelions", "Tree Swing", and "Believe" are hardly noteworthy.
On It's Spooky To Be Young Meredith Meyer provides the listener with a handful of very memorable musical moments. - Snobsmusic.net
Discography
It's Spooky To Be Young (2009 Willow Walk Music). Produced, recorded and mixed by Bill Racine. Self-released and released on Itunes.
Items You Won't Find Elsewhere (2005 Willow Walk Music) produced by Brian Kehew. Self-released on Diamond Dove Records and Itunes.
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Bio
It's Spooky To Be Young
Meredith Meyer has the rare gift of turning life's trials into something beautiful. Taking cues from influences as diverse as Kate Bush and Blonde Redhead, the Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter recently released her second full-length album, It's Spooky To Be Young. Produced, recorded and mixed by Bill Racine, known for his work with Rogue Wave, Mates of States, Mark Gardner and Longwave, the album is a mix of soaring melodies, edgy lyrics and muses on the beauty and vulnerability of being human.
An Oklahoma City native, Meyer hit Hollywood at the age of 22. A series of unexpected events made her realize that music was her true calling. When a guitarist asked her to record some vocals for his band, she discovered that it came to her very easily. "When I did my first vocal take at Paramount Recording on Santa Monica Boulevard, it felt really natural," Meyer says. "That combined with the creative process of writing, which also felt so natural, got me hooked."
This wasn't Meyer's first foray into music, however. She began playing classical piano at a very young age, encouraged by her father who was a saxophone player-turned-businessman. Although stubbornly resistant to studying piano as a kid ("I hated practicing," she says), something clicked when she picked up a guitar at age 16, taught herself a few chords and started writing her own songs. "I play detective when I write," says Meyer. "A clue pops into my mind and I have to figure it out in the song. Whether it's something someone said in passing or a phrase I can't get out of my head, figuring out what matters and how to bring listeners into that moment is the key."
After playing with a couple of indie bands shortly after arriving in Los Angeles, Meyer decided to blaze her own path as a solo artist. She released her critically acclaimed debut album Items You Won't Find Elsewhere in 2005, produced by Brian Kehew (Fiona Apple, AIR, Aimee Mann). She received encouragement and advice from another famed Oklahoma City native, Michelle Martin Coyne -- artist and wife of Flaming Lips' frontman Wayne Coyne. It was Michelle who ultimately connected Meyer with Racine, who produced, recorded and mixed the 10 songs that would become It's Spooky To Be Young.
"We made the whole record during a crazy month when I was going through a lot of personal stuff," Meyer says. "I had gotten into a major car accident and was having other personal issues. All of that definitely factored into my performance and the emotionality of the sound." Despite the difficult times, Meyer managed to stay positive. "I try not to get bogged down by negative things," she says. "Something beautiful can come out of hard times and that's where I focused my energy."
Meyer said that her goal was to use layers, lyrics and melodies to "create music that stirs up something in your gut." Strings, guitars, keyboards, xylophones and Meyer's sweet yet sultry vocals bring listeners to an otherworldly place that's both comforting and challenging.
Meyer is also involved in a groundbreaking project with author Jessica Bendinger, who wrote the screenplay for the famed cheerleader film Bring It On. Struck by Meyer's unique voice and introspective songwriting, Bendinger asked Meyer to contribute a tune to one of the first ever soundtracks to accompany a book, and chose "Video Game Girl," which appears on the soundtrack to Bendinger's first novel, The Seven Rays, as well as on It's Spooky To Be Young.
Since throwing a record release party for Spooky during New York's CMJ Festival last October, Meyer frequently finds herself back in the Big Apple performing shows at venues including The Living Room and Webster Hall with her three-piece backing band. She intends to continue playing live around the U.S. well into 2010, and will soon begin work on her third studio album. "I want to find a secluded spot somewhere in the woods to record, maybe a cabin in Oklahoma." she says, adding that she'll be partnering with producer Racine once again.
-Laura Ferreiro
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