We are constantly hearing about the industry movers and shakers looking for the new Dylan or the successor to Joni Mitchell. I must admit, it all gets a bit tiresome. Not only is it a reductive way of looking at the world, but it also misses the point. After all, the new Dylan isn’t going to sound like his Bob-ness; the new Joni isn’t going to mimic like a precise and poised tribute act. Anyone worthy of such a title might display many of the same classic hallmarks, more in attitude than actual sound perhaps, and they will also be products of their own times.
Listening to this debut collection from Meli Foster-Turner, I think we have found what they have been talking about. I’m not sure what she might be the successor to… a time, a feeling, and an echo of Laurel Canyon, the lost sound of a 60s Greenwich Village coffee shop folk scene, but the way she blends the classic sound and clarity of a recognizable past with the sound of today is perfection.
“Narcissist” frames her gorgeous voice in shimmering sonics and chiming sounds, driving it on via layers of liquid guitars, blending vocal purity with a lush, layered sound. “Change” is full of haunted vocals drifting past, room to breathe afforded by the n unmistakable minimal musical building blocks, and a whiff of melancholy. “Serendipity” ends by wrapping an echo of Joan Baez’s angelic tones in cutting-edge indie-folk trappings.
Yes, the powers-that-be are always looking for the next thing, a new artist to wear the historic crown, the successor to the sound of their own youth. It’s just that they don’t seem to understand exactly what they are looking for, and so they are always looking in the wrong place anyway. They should take a look at Meli Foster-Turner.
