Over the last few years, there’s been a revival of singer-songwriter types who specialise in sun-dappled, tender, smoky loves songs that unfurl languidly; think brass bands, rich, lush orchestration, and the deep, warm charm that went hand in hand with recording in proper studios to tape. And to the names of Natalie Prass, Matthew E White, and Jenny Lewis we can now add Molly Burch, California native and jazz vocal alumni, who has dropped ten tracks of such heart-breaking gorgeousness, it’s hard to believe that not only is this her debut, but that she claims it was all tracked live in just one day, and in one room.
This is a heady mix of retro soul, country, and pop that sounds… well… nigh on perfect; a sprinkling of the Everly Brothers here, some Phil Spector there, and hints of Patsy and Dusty and Nancy. From the yearning of the magnificent title track to the sweeping drama of ‘Fool’, Burch is utterly captivating, an old-school love-worn chanteuse, and while the music is luxuriant and beautifully crafted, her smouldering presence is the sun around which everything revolves.
That Burch’s father was a Hollywood writer/producer and her mother a casting director shouldn’t come as a surprise when hearing the Golden Era cinematic feel that fills ‘Please Be Mine’.
Breathy and dripping with emotion, or soaring through the clouds, she has a voice for the ages, and uses it throughout to devastating effect. A new star has been born.
