San Diego folksinger Tristan Prettyman mixes and matches well beyond the acoustic terrain that usually accompanies reflective songwriters. Hello, her 2008 follow-up to her 2005 debut twentythree, features coffeehouse funk beats (think Ani DiFranco), alt-country slide guitars (think Tift Merritt), and plenty of sassy nightclub jazz stylings (think Erin McKeown) to spice up these tales of self-empowerment, self-doubt, and woe. Between the spirited give and take of her backing band — plenty of keyboards to flesh out the sound — an orchestrated string section, and the careful productions of Sacha Skarbek and Martin Terefe (who worked similar tricks for Ron Sexsmith), Prettyman never spends too much time alone. Even her quietest moments (“You Got Me,” “Blindfold”) are subtly chaperoned by visiting musicians, while Prettyman’s pop instincts (“Hello,” “California Girl,” “Madly”) are given the full-body treatment and made for radio play. Prettyman’s hardly a wallflower herself. Her confident, no-nonsense vocals are resilient even in their most exposed moments.
More By Tristan Prettyman
- 2012
- 2008
- 2005
- 2014
- 2021
- 2007
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