Although Ember Schrag's songs are all written in the first person they have a curiously detached quality largely due to lyrics which are as elusive as they are intriguing.
She was born in Nebraska and ,since her adoptive parents were tongues-speaking militant Christians, her exposure to music while growing up was mainly confined to the strict church environment.
Her words are rich in poetic symbolism, often drawn from nature and displaying an unconventional outlook.
We find this in details like a "lonesome boulder and smoldering sky" (Jephthah's Daughter), "brittle fields" (Sutherland) and with lovelorn reflections such as on My Brother's Men when she sings "I wrote a letter I didn't send, just to talk to you again".
The album is described as a "psychic journey" and features 12, mainly acoustic, songs including all four tracks from her EP Jephthah's Daughter released in 2010.
My favourite song is also one of the shortest and simplest. Your Words encapsulates a couple where the healing potential of spoken communication has run dry and ends with the desolate lines : If only you would kiss me and smile / If only you would kiss me and moan".
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Overall the album has a melancholy feel especially on tracks which feature Jonah Sirota on viola.
It's not hard to imagine these songs presented in a more upbeat Regina Spektor-ish manner but, instead, the mood is resolutely downtempo and Schrag's austere vocals give the music a bluesy quality which can be likened to the sultry fatalism of Karen Dalton.
There's not a huge variety here but it's a strong collection written from a unique and original perspective.
Ember Schrag's website
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