Keeping It Real
Self-Released, 2019
9/10
An Australia native who has dabbled in several genres so far, Georgia Weber brings her many years of experience to an unclassifiable listen with Keeping It Real, as her punk roots are still evident across sophisticated landscapes.
“So Quite New A Thing” starts the listen soft and warm amid the bare instrumental, and “Eleven O’Clock” follows with Weber’s sweet and smooth vocals guiding the jazz influenced, indie-rock gem.
Towards the middle, “Recover Or Repeat” offers an elegant and initially quiet take on Weber’s eclectic vision that builds into a fuzzy rocker, while “Parachute” recruits strings and a hazy setting of orchestral playfulness. The title track, one of the album highlights, showcases Weber’s unclassifiable mix of chamber sounds, alt-rock and singer-songwriter confession with sublime beauty and underlying intensity.
Near the end, “Leave It With Me” finds a soulful place to reside among a sparse, moving atmosphere, and the reprise version of the opening tune exits the listen with grace and memorableness.
Along with Nathan Ellman Bell on drums and Kenji Herbert on guitar, Weber’s versatile vocals and double bass prowess make Keeping It Real one of the most exciting jazz-ish records in recent history that fans of indie-rock will also embrace.
Travels well with: Death Cab For Cutie- Transatlanticism; Lake Street Dive- Bad Self Portraits