Suzanne Vallie “Water Table” Review

I first heard Suzanne Vallie’s singing at Minneapolis’s 331 Club, where Chris DeLine and I were having an impromptu site meeting over beers. Sitting in a back booth, chatting with Chris about the future of the blog, I remember a clear voice ringing through the club, cutting through the din like a knife through smoke. Six months later I finally find myself in possession of her EP, Water Table, a record that isn’t easy to apprehend unless you can catch up with Vallie at one of her shows.

In a local music scene that is saturated with female fronted pop-folk acts, something about this singer/songwriter stands out. It might be her freewheeling lyrics that wander everywhere from “losing your shoes in the gumbo” to Ted Nugent’s “tight pants.” Or it could be a low smoky alto that that conjures world weariness mixed with a delicate sense of vulnerability. Whatever it is has me hooked and I cannot get enough of this EP.

“Keep You Home,” starts Water Table out with some elegant piano and guitar tinkling, all anchored together with a strong upright bass line. The lyrics are at times seemingly nonsensical, but contain certain common threads that conjure an image of someone returning to their lover from a long distance. A little accordion with some stomps and hand-claps give the tune an old country feel that has early American folk at its heart. “Propane Tank” takes the theme in a slightly jazzier direction, with its swingin’ bassline and smoldering vocals. In this track Vallie brings to mind Chan Marshall with the uneasy sense of forbidding that she is able to affect (I just hope that Vallie’s music doesn’t draw from the misery in her life the way Marshall’s used to). The album’s title-track brings a little freak folk to the mix with a sawing violin, ukulele, and tambourine. Like Jana Hunter, Vallie manages to inject a healthy does of strangeness into her music without completely losing sight of its rootsy folk base.

Finally “Keep Away” rounds out the selection, my favorite of Vallie’s songs as well as a possible local favorite of the year. The song was originally made up on a road trip she took with a friend to pass the time and get a few laughs. It has since evolved into a marvelous piece of opaque, almost psychedelic folk. It contrasts Vallie’s breathy whispering nicely with a violent electric guitar and some understated layered vocals. It’s a great album closer, but one that leaves the listener unsatisfied (after all, four songs isn’t nearly enough). Hopefully Vallie gets in the studio soon to lay down some more wax. Until then, we will have to make do with what we have.

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Also: Suzanne Vallie @ 331 Club