Samba with a Swedish twist. Sarah Chesler embraces the world with love, charity, grace, and a touch of jealousy! Her voice rings clear as a bell on a soft summer night. Though originally from Sweden, she seems most likely borne of the Faerie. Chesler composed all the songs including the three instrumentals co-written with guitarist/bassist/vocalist Tony Bocchetta. The two met at an open mic in CT. The chemistry felt so good they decided to cut an album together. They harmonize so seamlessly that you can't tell where one starts and the other ends!
The best tunes feature gentle, lilting rhythms, haunting vocals about simple pleasures, and intricately laced bass, guitar, and keyboards. In "Cars Drive By," a mother drifts into reverie. "Sometimes clouds crowd my sky. I still smile. I’m alive. I close my eyes. Cars drive by. Baby cry no more. Your mama’s there by the door with stars aligned bathing in moonlight. Dum dum dummmm..." "Crazy Love" begins and ends with one of the many wordless refrains found on the record. "Sing to me love. Come shut me up. Drive me crazy from just one touch. Sing to me love. Come shut me up." Chesler implores the seasons to change with a sexy samba in "Spring Won't You Come?" "Spring won't you come. Please bring back the sun. Warm my face as I sing about all the love you bring. Lalalala..." Boccetta articulates one of the album's many great bass solos.
The CD continues in a similar musical vein. Bocchetta begins "Falling into Love" with a delightful, chiming guitar solo. "Hurry, take my hand. I am falling where I stand. Slipping through the cracks of our/your love. Ladadum, ladadum..." The groove swings sharply in "Here in My Backyard." "The sun’s going down. Moon singing softly and I’m having pie. Dup-do-be-dop-dobe-do... The children are playing. They’re trying to hide. I know it’s past bedtime, but I say it’s fine." A harsher emotion plagues Chesler as she scats through "She Said." "They say jealousy is the worst disease. I don’t know what they’re talking ‘bout. I just really want what belongs to me. I just, I just, I just (just look out)."
All the wordless, bewitching harmonies frame the music in a pale, warm glow. The three instrumentals add to the diversity by giving Tony Boccetta a chance to stretch out on guitar and bass. The feels vary from the gentle "Lullaby for Milly" to the fiery flamenco of "Spanish Moon" and the throbbing bass of the hypnotic "Your Eyes."
Pour yourself a glass of wine. Take a load off and slip back into the simpler world of "Earth And Moon" -- one where beauty, love, and poetry rule. Take the time to embrace the light with Sarah Chesler and Tony Bocchetta.©2014 Roger Zee