Lisa Cerbone

..
(4 Stars) Everyone has an album in their collection that they save for a rainy Sunday, an unobtrusive, slightly melancholy book of a record to organize closets and sift through old desk drawers to. Singer/songwriter Lisa Cerbone's Ordinary Days is like a cigarette on an overcast afternoon. Beginning with the phrase "Aimless and tired," from the wonderful opener "Swallowing Stones," she skillfully navigates the heart and soul with a keen eye for detail and a gift for melody. Her tiny voice conveys huge emotion on the poignant "Sweep Your Hair From Your Eyes" and the dreamy "Beautiful Mess." Producer and Red House Painter Mark Kozelek has given Cerbone a lot of room to play with and she's tastefully chosen to keep things simple, knowing full well that these delicate songs would break under the weight of any heavy production. Kozelek fills in the empty spaces sparingly, decorating each room with swift brush strokes of feedback and warm fingerpicking. The dual lead guitars that snake through the nostalgic "Mrs. Foster" showcase his restraint and respect for the intimacy of Cerbone's reflective writing style. The real magic happens when the two of them sing. Like fellow indie darlings Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Cerbone and Kozelek blend like peanut butter and jelly, often indistinguishable in their cadences like the last few crackles of an October bonfire. — James Christopher Monger All- Music Guide
It's been seven years since the release of singer/songwriter Lisa Cerbone's last disc, Mercy. Cerbone, who lives in the Westminster area, took some time off to start a family, and her return to the local scene is much welcome. Her new disc, Ordinary Days (Little Scrubby Music), is something of a coup in that it is produced by Mark Kozelek, the much lauded frontman for the Red House Painters. It's an excellent match, with Cerbone's hauntingly stark tunes and ethereal vocals framed by Kozelek's luminescent, uncluttered production - it's Cerbone's strongest work to date. Tunes such as "Sweep Your Hair from Your Eyes" and "Ruthless Order", and the title track bring to mind similarly spirited artists like Low and the Cowboy Junkies, as they temper melancholia with a nod towards transcendence. It's a delicate balance that makes Cerbone's disc anything but ordinary. John Lewis/ Baltimore Magazine
She possesses a voice that won't quickly leave your memory." Delusions of Adequacy