Sue Scrofa

The location where an artists crafts their music is sometimes incredibly crucial to the final sound. Such is the case with Alabama transplant, and current Boston college student Alyssa Crisswell, who assembles her tunes under the name Sue Scrofa (a play on the old Latin term for a female pig, ‘sus scrofa’).

Crisswell attributes her lack of writing in the Boston area to the mere lack of facilities for her to do so, having to cram herself into small piano rooms in order to work on her songs. “There are two ways I write usually. I can sit down and play on the piano for a while, or I need to go into the studio and improvise some sounds. I guess things are limiting up here, I but I’m learning to work with those limits.”

It becomes quite obvious that most of Crisswell’s material was written in Alabama, since her songs are devoid of the sometimes claustrophobic nature other Boston singer-songwriters seem to possess. The lead off track of her in-studio session, “Story of My Mother” glides along on a beat that isn’t driving as much as it is casual. The background vocals end up giving the song somewhat of a 60's girl-group vibe. It is the first example given of Crisswell’s sound, pastoral indie pop excursions that honestly could not have been written in a place like Boston.

The fact that Crisswell does not play an actual instrument during the performance allows her to experiment more with her voice in each song, another characteristic that sets her apart. “I’m self-taught on a few instruments, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say I’m a ‘musician.’ I’d say I’m a lot more of a vocalist.” On “The Goodbye Song,” Crisswell proves this, the lyrics making great use of repeated phrases and sounds. The musical backdrop this time around skews more in the direction of alt-country, with weeping guitars in the background.

Last year, Crisswell put out the album Alabamulance, the title inspired by a misreading of the word, well, “ambulance.” Her family assisted in the recording, as well the actual performance of it. Despite the warmth and connection that would be apparent in a family based group, Crisswell says there are not any immediate plans for her parents to perform in the live setting. “I pitched the idea to my dad, and all I got was (adopts Southern accent) ‘I’M NOT PERFORMIN’!”
The title track of the album flies by at a quicker alt-country pace, it’s verses marked by syncopated descending melody lines, and a bridge section that features subtle vocal percussion. During the performance of “Alabamulance,” Crisswell begins laughing at something a bit. It’s refreshing to see an artist who has a passion for her music, but doesn’t take everything so seriously. While we’re glad to have her up here in Boston, one almost wishes Crisswell was home in Alabama more, so we would have more awesome tunes. www.myspace.com/suescrofa - WERS 88.9 FM (www.wers.org)