SERA

Sarah Louise Owen - Stage name SERA

Full review:
SINGLE OF THE WEEK 1: SARAH LOUISE OWEN – FIREWORKS: Maybe it’s because I’m a sucker for songs that boast sweet female vocals and toe-tapping melodies, but the new single from Sarah Louise Owen lives up to its name, Fireworks, by being a bit of a sparkler. Combining some breezy acoustic licks with sweet electronic elements, the odd splash of horn and the loveliest of vocals, this is a bittersweet offering that remains tremendously life affirming in spite of some lyrics that are rooted in self-doubt (“maybe I’m expecting too much from my heart”, etc). Welsh performer Owen is clearly a name to look out for and Fireworks is a daydream of a record that ought to get picked up by some kind of soundtrack soon.
Rating: 4 out of 5 - Indie London

Sarah Louise Owen - Stage name SERA

Rating: 5/5

Sarah Louise Owen burst onto the music scene back in 2005 but this week she is back with her fourth album Dream Catcher.

And this is the best album that the Welsh singer song-writer has put out yet as she delivers an infectious folk/pop record.

Melody is the opening track on the record and it really is a fun song that catches her fantastic folk sound. This is an upbeat and quirky tack that is driven forward by Owen’s fantastic vocal and some great violin work.

And Owen is famed for penning slow ballads about love and she shows off that skill once again with the fantastic Song That I Knew.

This is such a touching record about losing love and Owen’s vocals are just so packed with emotion that you can’t help but feel the pain that she sings about.

Lifeboat and Last Kiss are two of the other big piano led ballads that are just incredibly beautiful love songs that are so emotive. She writes in a way that everyone can connect and relate to and that is quite a talent.

But this is not all about love ballads as Dream Catcher sees Owen return to that folk sound as the acoustic guitar is the perfect accompaniment to her voice.

The beat really kicks in half way through and this turns into a really upbeat track and after two incredibly emotive ballads it is a welcome change.

Fireworks is one of the more radio friendly tracks on the record and it is perhaps one of the more pop driven tracks on this record.

It is a quirky track about looking for love and it really is a fun that you will be singing long after the song has finished.

The female singing voice is one of the most beautiful musical sounds and Owen has delivered an album that showcases that to the full.

This is a record that has put her voice and songs before heavy production and it really has worked wonderfully as Owen has such a captivating vocal.

She really tells a story with her music and her songs are incredibly visual and emotive that you will get swept away with this collection of tracks.

If there is one solo female album that you listen to this year then make sure that it is Dream Catcher by Sarah Louise Owen as it is nothing short of perfection!!!

Sarah Louise Owen - Dream Catcher is out now

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw



Read more: http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/music/reviews/album/Sarah+Louise+Owen-268243.html#ixzz3FjZNr4uz - Female First

Sera, the third and final Welsh act of the night, is a singer and guitar and piano-playing artist. Think the piano playing of Sara Bareilles crossed with Joni Mitchell’s songbird twang and guitar playing, with a pinch of the more animated and upbeat vocals of Amanda Palmer (‘Coin Operated Boy’ like), and you’re nearly there. The way to stand out these days if you’re a female singer/songwriter is to be unique, and I don’t think I know any other women who play those two instruments and have such a special voice that I hope comes across as a compliment, but the only word I can come up with that makes sense is ‘precious’. She began with the track ‘Fireworks’, which thankfully sounds nothing like the Katy Perry song of the same name. It reminded me a lot of Van Susans’ ‘Glow’, using the imagery of sparks and chemistry to describe the search for true love.

By Mary Chang - There Goes The Fear

Sarah Louise Owen - Stage name SERA

"Sera is another name that can be added to the
current crop of Welsh talent.” A Musical Priority
The female voice is a wondrous thing in my opinion. It can make more of even the most mundane lyrics than you could reasonably expect. Not that any of the lyrics on “Dream Catcher” are mundane – far from it – but Sarah Louise Owen has a voice that makes them resonate in your consciousness.
Though often allegorical, the songs on this album are mostly concerned with telling love’s oft told tale. That’s no bad thing, however, when you can deliver a controlled dose of heartfelt melodrama to convince the listener that all is actually of reality rather than contrived illusion and that’s exactly what Sarah Louise Owen does. On a big piano led ballad like “The Last Kiss”, for example, she demonstrates a controlled dignity in her presentation that is positively refreshing in these times of over the top Saturday night theatricality. She likewise puts not a foot wrong as she walks the Americana trail with “These Walls” where underplaying the emotions creates the very authenticity that a song such as this needs.
There are lighter, quirkier, songs too with “Fireworks” easily earning its place on your mantelpiece next to that picture of Kate Nash but it is on the songs that are destined to go large that Sarah Louise Owen really shines with “Broken Hearted World” earning its place in the spotlight. That’s why you’ve got a heart, after all.
“Dream Catcher” is the kind of album that many would class as a nice easy listen and that is by no means an insult.
Rating: 4 / 5 - Blues Bunny