Sweet Soubrette
Brooklyn, New York, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2014
Music
Press
Dark and sultry...not quite vaudeville, not quite cabaret, Sweet Soubrette certainly has a sound that is truly their own...intoxicating and addicting. - Indie Music Reviewer
Sweet Soubrette have crafted a compelling bitter-sweet pop song of the highest order. - The 405
...thrilling to hear the lush, big sound she gets with her band on the [What's My Desire?] CD, with strings, horns and keyboards. It includes two highly polished studio tracks, the title song, with impressionistic lyrics inspired by Anais Nin and arrangement and tune (but not singing) that remind me of Leonard Cohen; and the discoey but classy “Be My Man”...The connecting center is the girlish but smoldering voice of the Soubrette herself. - Travalanche
Sweet Soubrette's music is modern and sonically diverse...talented instrumentalists, lyricism and tightly sung melodies make for a really exciting listen. - WBRS
If ever a tune was deserving of the adjective ‘lovely’, this is surely it. - either/or
An indie insider...enchanting - Metro NY
"Sweet Soubrette's style comes with a pinch of Regina Spektor quirk and a spoonful of old-timey burlesque." - Time Out New York
Dark, confessional lyrics delivered by the ukelele-wielding Ellia Bisker, who somehow comes across as sweet and charming while simultaneously laying waste to all your romantic notions of love and urban happiness...she definitely got under my skin. - Feast of Music (CMJ 2011 recap)
Critics love to describe Sweet Soubrette as “dark,” but that seems a bit unfair based on our listening. In fact, she’s got an incredibly unique sound. There’s certainly an element of “artsy” musicianship. A balance of strings and near-pop vocal stylings make for an eclectic album. Fans of Caitlin Rose and even Ingrid Michaelson will find Sweet Soubrette an enjoyable listen. - Ear to the Ground Music
Edgy, honest and sultry in deliverance, Sweet Soubrette has quickly risen as one of New York's most intriguing songwriting forces to come out of Brooklyn. Featuring the vocal and musical talents of Ellia Bisker, whose first album Siren Song was released on the indie label MH Records in 2008, Sweet Soubrette hit the ground running with their sophomore album, Days and Nights, three years later. Both albums encompass Bisker's fantastic incorporation of poetry and life in her sweet-yet-sassy lyrics, and Days and Nights features the addition of band members Heather Cole, Mike Dobson and Bob Smith. An enigmatic performer, Bisker has charmed audiences with her rock star command and intelligently crafted music, generating a buzz for Sweet Soubrette that extends way beyond the borders of New York City. - The Deli Magazine
"Wry, unapologetic, sassy and flirty torch songs and ballads." - On The Scene (Hudson-Catskill)
"Saucy strummer Sweet Soubrette...Brooklyn's fishnet-clad femme fatale." - Bust Magazine
"At once sweet and sassy, celebrating reckless behavior with a charmed wink."
--Time Out NY - Time Out New York
"Poetic lyrics and a nostalgic indie style, with vocals that waver between song and spoken word."
- AM New York
"Almost impossible to stop replaying in one's head after hearing them...[Ellia Bisker] certainly has something unique to offer and is someone to keep an eye on." - The Deli Magazine
"Don't let the 'sweet' in the soubrette's sobriquet fool you. Her comic love songs are dark and biting."
- Chelsea Now
This is a band that intuitively knows not just how to attract an audience, but also how to keep them there. (Article: "Indie Rock Meets Cabaret") - Worcester Magazine
"A gal, her ukulele, her band and a batch of dark, edgy love songs."
- Nippertown
"Worth seeing & hearing."
(Artist of the Month, March 2011) - Femmusic.com
"With powerhouse vocals and power-chord ukulele, Ellia Bisker performs as Sweet Soubrette, playing the dark vaudeville-pop songs from her sensational new album Days and Nights." - Philadelphia Inquirer
"Alternately (and often simultaneously) vulnerable and seductive...her lyrics...range from wry and smart to disarmingly poignant."
- Brooklyn Roads
"Take Amanda Palmer covering Radiohead and then take Phoebe Legere and drain out the jazz and replace it with Jenny Lewis circa The Execution Of All Things and then throw on some fishnet stockings and you have Sweet Soubrette...this time she has a full band and the songs have texture and beauty." - Rock NYC
"What makes a Sweet Soubrette? One part circus performer, one part poet, and third part rockstar...a Sweet Soubrette show is like badass adult story time." - CultureMob
"This 12-track disk is buoyed by sincere artistic talent...this Brooklyn songstress’ debut album is as invigorating as ocean spray....tender then venomous, audacious then introspective, but never apologetic." - Knocks from the Underground
"Wry, unapologetic, sassy and flirty, this tiny ukulele princess is not your typical acoustic act...covered head-to-toe in silver sparkles (including big, sparkly fake eyelashes), Bisker is pretty and poised, maintaining the perfect balance of passion and deadpan...the audience absolutely adores it." - Phrequency
"...one of my favorite unsung stars from the Williamsburg Live Songwriter Competition. She markets herself as a poet as well, and indeed, the lyrics are the key to her charm. 'The Siren Song' is one of my favorites. There was a neat little song that took a famous coffee line from Airplane! and turned it into several verses of clever imagery and word play. And let's not forget how ravishing she looked in that glittery, feathery, completely over-the-top outfit. A winner from start to finish."
- Jezebel Music
"Seductively simple melodies and clever lyrics...her stage presence filled the large auditorium with ease." - Artistic Director, Berkshire Fringe Festival
"Ellia Bisker, otherwise known as Sweet Soubrette, is one of our favourite ukelele artists, in fact she's one of our favourite artists full stop." - Shed.FM
"Sweet Soubrette...sings beguilingly of love....with great spirit and sass. It's a short but sweet album, leaving the listener wanting much more." - Collected Sounds
"Opening for Cirkestra Saturday at Wired Cafe in Bethlehem was Sweet Soubrette, a striking woman wearing fishnets, a sparkly dress, enormous fake eyelashes and a disarming smile. Armed with just a ukulele, she sang funny, occasionally bawdy, occasionally deep songs of doomed romance. The beauty and sincerity of her voice transformed the act from a mere curiosity to a moving performance."
- The Morning Call, Allentown, PA
Discography
Siren Song (MH Records) - album, 2008
Days and Nights (MH Records) - album, 2011
What's My Desire? (self released) - EP, 2012
Burning City (self released) - album, 2014
Photos
Bio
New York City's Sweet Soubrette is a ukulele-powered indie rock band with dark, poetic lyrics, songs that tell stories, and lush instrumentation. Sweet Soubrette's edgy love songs explore troubled romance, works of literature, and the mysteries of existence, featuring the songwriting, vocals and ukulele of Ellia Bisker and a talented backing band. Bisker honed her performance chops playing ukulele in the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, and the glittery eyelashes she wears onstage hint at her vaudevillean origins. Time Out NY says "Sweet Soubrette's style comes with a pinch of Regina Spektor quirk and a spoonful of old-timey burlesque." The Deli Magazine calls Sweet Soubrette "One of New York's most intriguing songwriting forces...rock star command and intelligently crafted music."
Sweet Soubrette plays frequently in NYC, ranging from a solo singer/songwriter act to an 8-piece band with strings and horns. Sweet Soubrette has also performed on college campuses and in numerous festivals, including the Paris Uke Fest, the Berkshire Fringe, the New York Uke Fest, CMJ, the Tinderbox Music Festival, Hudson Water Music, and the Ladybug Festival, and has toured in the Northeastern U.S., Italy, and France.
The first Sweet Soubrette album, Siren Song, released in 2008 as a solo project on indie label MH Records, received positive reviews and high rotation on national U.S. college radio. Time Out NY described it as "at once sweet and sassy, celebrating reckless behavior with a charmed wink." The Deli Magazine said it was "almost impossible to stop replaying in one's head after hearing." In 2011 Sweet Soubrette released a second album, Days and Nights, featuring the addition of Bisker's new backing band on bass, drums, and violin. The record's dark pop sensibility earned comparisons to Amanda Palmer and Regina Spektor. A NYC release show packed the Bowery Poetry Club, and a tour of the Northeast U.S. followed. The Philadelphia Inquirer called Days and Nights "dark vaudeville-pop...sensational" and Worcester Magazine described it as "indie rock meets cabaret."
In 2012 Sweet Soubrette released an EP, What's My Desire, previewing two singles from the next full-length album: What's My Desire and Be My Man, with arrangements adding piano and a 3-piece horn section to the existing backing band. The title track has earned extensive critical praise and was included on Wicked Local's list of "22 Stellar Songs from 2012." The playful, inventive music videos created for both tracks have gotten thousands of views since their release.
Sweet Soubrette's third full-length album, Burning City, released in early 2014, delivers on the promise of the What's My Desire EP, showing off the band's lush, rich arrangements of strings, horns, bass, drums, piano, and harmonies. The album's ten tracks were inspired by source material as varied as troubled love, works of literature, extreme weather events, and the promise of new romance, and they range from dark to transcendent, playful to spellbinding. Burning City's strong songwriting and powerful execution make this album Sweet Soubrette's best work to date. New York Music Daily describes Burning City as "Lush, resonant chamber pop...deliciously lurid...shifts back and forth between enigmatic, noirishly artsy pop and swirly circus rock."
"Sweet Soubrette, a band that is the lovechild of Regina Spektor and Amanda Palmer, have released a stunning album, Burning City. It's incredible...It has hints of cabaret as well as indie rock but in all honesty, despite comparisons made, I'd say this is the most unique and exciting album I've heard in a long time."
-From 'DC to ZZ
"This is intelligent stuff delivered with pure intent and integrity...Bisker and her associates present well-fleshed out songs that blur in and out of various genres, all the while retaining a solid sense of artistic integrity and skill."
-babysue
"Of all the things I like about Sweet Soubrette, I think it's the things that inspire their songs that I find to be the most endearing and intriguing."
-Philthy Mag
"They are the perfect indie band."
-WLFC 88.3 FM
"By turns thought-provoking, emotional, and fun--often all at once."
-Greenpointers
Band Members
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