Marta Pacek kicks off the CD with “The Hunted,” one of my
personal favorites. It has a wonderful, kind of haunting (or perhaps haunted)
vibe, established right away with those gorgeous “Oooh” vocals that rise from the groove before the lyrics begin. How
is it that she is able to sound beautiful and also just a bit sinister at the
same time as she sings, “Bearing the
scars on my chest to remind me/That I’ll be forever hunting you still/I’ll be
forever hunting you still.” Adding to the great feel of this track is Frank
Koren’s work on electric guitar, which at one point takes over in wonderful,
anguished fuzzy tones.
“Nothing Going On” opens with an electronic drum beat,
which is surprising. But before you can really think about it, Marta Pacek’s
vocals command focus: “Oh baby, don’t
know what you believe/But you can’t trust what you think you see/There’s no
evidence for conclusions drawn/’Cause he and I got nothing going on.” And
then the electric guitar enters like a bit surf, which is also surprising. But
from there, the song settles into a good folk-rock tune, which at moments
reminds me of Tom Petty (like the way she sings, “Oh baby, don’t know what you believe” when she returns to the
chorus). “Nothing Going On” was written by Marta Pacek and Neil Murchison. Brad
Albetta plays organ on this track (Abetta also produced this CD).
This album contains two versions of “One Day,” a song
that Marta Pacek co-wrote with Todd Clark. Both are good, though I think I
prefer the second version, which ends the CD, mainly because of the presence of
Maria Lynn Leven on cello, an instrument I’m always happy to hear. Todd Clark
plays electric guitar on the first version.
“Favourite Thing” is a fun, catchy country tune about a
regular hook-up, its main lines being, “You’re
my favorite thing to do/And I can’t keep my paws off of you.” I love its
opening lines: “When the night comes
rolling in/You come rolling by/There’s no reason for you to call/And I won’t ask
you why.” “Favourite Thing” was written by Marta Pacek and Neil Murchison.
Earlier this summer, Marta Pacek released a video for “Sometimes
You Lose,” one of the most interesting tracks on the CD. This is a mellower and
completely engrossing song. “I’ve been
living in a bottle/Laying low where the sun don’t dare to shine,” she sings
at the beginning of this track. And she really grabs you when she sings, “And nothing’s going to save me now/Sometimes
you win, sometimes you lose/Some things in life you don’t get to choose.”
But it’s the strange instrumental section after that which really makes the
song for me. This track features Maria Lynn Levene on cello and Declan O’Donovan
on electric piano.
“Thar She Blows” features Peirson Ross on banjo. That
song also gives the CD its title, in the lines “There are voodoo dolls and false alarms/There are vipers hissing
secrets in the dark.” That track is followed by “Not Leaving Here Alone,”
another song that has a haunting quality. Here is a taste of the lyrics: “Oh it’s a far cry from where I’ve come/Breaking
bones to the beat of a drum/Oh what a selfless thought/I ain't leaving here
alone.”
“Pass Me Over” is probably my favorite track on this CD.
It is more in the folk realm, and features some nice work on harmonica by Marta
Pacek. Maria Lynn Levene plays cello on this track. There is something
beautiful and even innocent in the sound, even as Marta sings, “And I can’t tell the men from the wolves
anymore/Tell me what It is I should be looking for/’Cause this heart is no
place for a wounded whore/Whose only desire is to conquer them all/I'm too soft
for the sweethearts and then softer still/Too weak to swallow that pill.”
CD Track List
- The Hunted
- Nothing Going On
- One Day
- Favourite Thing
- Sometimes You Lose
- All I Need
- Thar She Blows
- Not Leaving Here Alone
- Pass Me Over
- One Day (Alternative)
Voodoo Dolls And
False Alarms was released on February 27, 2014.
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