Sarah Perrotta

The latest release from dreamy, New York-chanteuse Sarah Perrotta is entitled The Well. Fans of Tori Amos’ early work will instantly find a kindred spirit in Perrotta, who is also a pianist, and is deft as a songbird when it comes to crafting elegant melodies.

The Well is a ghostly affair filled with elegant female persuasion and sultry grace. Style unlimited, Perrotta’s rich wail floats over the R&B swing of “Rooftops” and the retro-vogue pop of “Fishes.” Dynamically speaking, Perrotta’s songwriting abilities are top notch, as The Well showcases 11 tracks that are as broad in direction as they are in emotion.

Joining Perotta on The Well is The Band-alumnus Garth Hudson on accordion and legendary session man Tony Levin on bass. - Daniel Alleva-Charged by the System

I first heard the quixotic vocals of Sarah Perrotta through her work with the extinct outfit Outloud Dreamer, when she was known as Sarah Medenbach. The name has changed but the voice remains distinctively hers—smooth as vanilla pudding and lulling as warm liquid velvet, were there such a thing. In her current solo incarnation, she’s pulled together local luminaries Tony Levin, Erica Quitzow, Garth Hudson, David Temple, and other very competent players to help expand her repertoire of emotive, ethereal dream pop. A first spin of The Well may call to mind shades of Natalie Merchant and 10,000 Maniacs, though Perrotta remains completely original and exceedingly sophisticated in her writing (several tracks were co-written with former Dreamer Carl Adami). With Perrotta on piano, The Well is brimming with upbeat, atmospheric textures and hopeful, fanciful lyrics; from the drifting rhythms of “Rooftops” (“I hear the raindrops coming down / and I roll under, I roll through, I roll right on into you”) to the pensive, bouncy cadence of “Fishes” (“All the flowers of May were asleep in the gray / All the fish in the sea were in love with me”). This is the stuff of dreams, and, like dreams, it’s never frivolous or boring. Dreams always leave us aroused by their strangeness, depth, and beauty, and that’s what Perrotta will be known for. - Sharon Nichols - Chronogram

While listening to her actual debut as a solo artist, you can immediately hear that Sarah Perrotta is a natural born singer-songwriter. The songs are extremely well-built and intense, the lyrics are poetic yet accessible and the singing is particularly powerful and vibrant. Music has always been a passion for Sarah who’s been playing the piano and singing since she was a kid and who started her career as a member of Outloud Dreamer. Now that she’s decided to go solo and that she’s therefore unhampered by any constraints, she can fully develop her style and express her creativity, which enabled her to produce a masterpiece of a first album. Being surrounded by a team of great musicians, including band members Chris Lane (guitar), Johny Watson (drums) and John Stern (bass), not to mention guest appearances by legends such as Tony Levin and Garth Hudson, Sarah managed to turn her songs into extremely well-crafted gems. Ranging from folk-pop (‘The storm’) to rock (‘Rooftops’), this album discloses a lot of richness and eclectism while being extremely coherent. I defy anyone to resist falling for songs such as the superb ‘Before the fall’ and its baroque intro or the extremely powerful ‘Steel’ and its great guitar solo. Even though you can feel Sarah was influenced by artists like Bob Dylan, Nina Simone or Jeff Buckley and if it’s true that her vocal style is not unlike that of Tori Amos or Sarah McLachlan, it is however clear that Sarah has managed to develop her own, personal style on this great album which combines pop, folk and rock elements with a slight touch of the avant-garde. The lyrics, too, are impressive in the way they deal with topics such as life, love, coming of age in a very moving way. ‘The well’ is undeniably an excellent album which displays the talent and potential of a very gifted artist. If you like great music with a soul, you’ll like this. - Patrick Foissac - Riff Raff Magazine - Brussels