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Nellie McKay performing on etown.
Get Away From Me (Release Date: February 10, 2004) Artist/Album Review
Quite frankly, I just can't get enough of this amazing young singer/songwriter/pianist/performer. Even now, months since April 2004 when I first bought Nellie McKay's debut album on a total whim, I can take out one of the CDs from her first double album and play it for hours. She's sometimes playful, sometimes political and often sarcastic in her lyrics, but on some level she's also always genuine. I've heard some criticize that she's not yet reached the maturity level necessary to write and sing and gripe about some of the things she does, or that she takes herself to seriously, but however angst-ridden some of her songs may come off as, there is pure brilliance behind the actual composition of them. There is more creativity on all levels of this album than in many I have heard in a long time, and as a plus it's musically pleasing to listen to.
On Get Away From Me, (of which she once drew a non-comparison in concert to that of Norah Jones' Come Away With Me), Ms. McKay successfully mixes music genres in her songs from rock/pop to jazz to rap which enables her to more effectively speak to the listener, and makes the album that much more invigorating. Depending on the song she can evoke any number of emotions - anger (Sari), peacefulness (Suitcase Song), resentment (Respectable), gaiety (Dog Song) - because she's willing to pick out and relate to herself to a variety of the emotions most people experience at some point in their lives. Even if she's not singing about something you feel today - i.e. the turmoil of high school (Inner Peace), monotony of work (Work Song), or guilt of not doing enough for others (Really) - if you ever did you'll sit back and wonder how on earth she found a way to express so accurately and powerfully how you felt at that moment in your life. Likewise, if you can't directly relate to the subject matter of a song - i.e. a special mother-daughter bond (Manhattan Avenue) - its accent will still rub off on you a little. And best of all, she's not afraid to have a little fun amidst the various more "focused" agendas, albeit with a touch of biting humor to keep you on your toes (I Wanna Get Married, Won't U Please B Nice, Clonie).
I've been fortunate enough to see Nellie perform live three times now as I caught onto her fairly early, and I've even had the pleasure of meeting her (and her mother) face to face. I'm thankful for this since in a year's time it will probably be a rare thing to see her at such small venues, and also because I believe she will mature over the years and that change will become apparent in her music and performance style. (I do hope she will hold onto performing solo with only a piano). While I look forward to the days to come as well, Get Away From Me truly is a gem, and it wouldn't exist if it weren't for the stage Nellie McKay is at now, in both her musical and personal career.
-Sara Hamilton, January 16, 2005
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