Callie Shea Sullivan

Self-reflective, exploratory and always offering something new; Avon Lake, Ohio’s Callie Shea Sullivan shares her stories of both pain and growth emphatically with her powerful and virtually pitch-perfect voice. Her music is meticulously planned and she does not hesitate to use lots of instrumental harmonies to emphasize the emotional theme of each of her songs. Rather than seeing its limitations, she uses the verse-chorus-verse method to her advantage, adding a little “something” to each verse that makes it feel larger and more momentous than before. Her music takes the listener through a myriad of influences and settings to create anywhere from a power-pop-like “anthemic” feeling to a calm and reflective lull.

Because they are so stylistically different, each one of her songs is a stand-out in its own right. Her body of work suggests that she is aware of what direction she wants to take at all times, freeing herself from the restrictive and suffocating “rules” that most other contemporary artists seem to obey, unquestioningly. The result is a body of songs that are independent pieces of work with catchy pop hooks and dynamics that are always appropriate. Tracks like “Welcome In” will start off relatively soft and then progressively build and build until, before you know it, there is a dynamically expansive momentum that carries you seamlessly to the beginning of the next song.

At times the songs feel a little predictable as they tend to heavily follow a pop formula. The amount of detail put in to each song as far as the arrangement, mixing and functionality of each instrument is superb. All of the instruments are loud, clear and have great tones. These are all mixed very tastefully and keep their dynamics intact, even with the healthy dose of volume afforded by modern-day mastering.

With a golden voice and fantastically layered instruments, it will be a lot of fun to see Callie continue to develop as an artist. With the amount of talent that she has at her disposal, it is likely that any experimental direction she takes will be fruitful and hopefully more and more original. She has a sense of taste and vision that her like-sounding counterparts seem to forget about all too often. The melody of the song is always dominant and always beautiful; and her voice is always “just right” in every way that she applies it. You really aren’t going to find many singers that are as tasteful, thoughtful and self-aware as Callie Shea Sullivan. - Tyler Stephens of Indie Music Reviewer Magazine