Artist: Heather Maloney
Release: Time and Pocket Change
Released: 2011
Label: 
Catalog#: 
Format: FLAC / Lossless / Log (100%) / Cue
[color=blue]Country: USA
Style: folk,pop

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1.Fifty Lines 04:18
2.Time & Pocket Change 03:58
3.Impermanence 03:17
4.Quantum Physics 04:24
5.Forgotten Things 04:01
6.No Shortcuts 03:39
7.Basket of Biscuits 04:37
8.All of You at Once 03:22
9.Nightstand Drawer 03:55
10.The Hollow 04:22
11.A Room of My Own 05:02
12.Be Satisfied 02:50

Even the biggest music geeks can somehow miss something stunning and beautiful, which we did with Heather MaloneyΓÇÖs sophomore album Time & Pocket Change. We wonΓÇÖt hang our heads about it though; weΓÇÖre too busy basking in the glow of an amazing artist who deserves considerably more attention than sheΓÇÖs currently getting.

Released in April 2011, Time & Pocket Change has been slowly garnering stellar reviews up and down the east coast. Maloney, a New Jersey native, is now based in western Massachusetts and as she tours more frequently from her home base, word of this incredible talent continues to spread. Her voice ranges from powerful yell to playful warble to melted-butter-smooth; her music runs the gamut from sparse and foreboding to crafty and ΓÇô IΓÇÖll use the word again ΓÇô playful. The songs call to mind any number of other singer-songwriters but she manages to beat them all at their own game; her straight pop songs are constructed better than those of Dar Williams, her introspective songs are more surrealistic and evocative than Kristin HershΓÇÖs, and her creative flourishes (such as a jazzy trumpet on the title track) outshine and are considerably less contrived than those of Regina Spektor.

But itΓÇÖs really the voice that ties it together. Maloney is trained in both classical and jazz singing, but has also gone the other way and spent ten days doing silent meditation, literally not making a sound. Trying to say who Maloney ΓÇ£sounds likeΓÇ¥ as a singer is a tall order ΓÇô thereΓÇÖs a little Shawn Colvin, a little Ani DiFranco and, it must be said, a little Jewel (who for her myriad failings still has a great voice).

But those voices are occasionally (or in the case of Jewel, constantly) paired with subpar music. That doesnΓÇÖt happen on Time & Pocket Change. The opener, ΓÇ£Fifty Lines,ΓÇ¥ sets the tone with frequent tempo changes and pleasantly warbling vocals that stay in pitch so perfectly they could pass for auto tuned. ΓÇ£ImpermanenceΓÇ¥ is a beautiful piano ballad about the fragility of relationships sung with a crippling earnestness. ΓÇ£No ShortcutsΓÇ¥ is a countrified blues jam that cleverly compares finding your way across the country to being in therapy. ΓÇ£Quantum PhysicsΓÇ¥ is a quiet meditation that reveals MaloneyΓÇÖs mastery of minimalism as she adds resonant percussion to her tenor guitar.

The tenor guitar makes several welcome appearances on the record. Basically a banjoΓÇÖs thin neck on an acoustic guitarΓÇÖs body, the tenor guitar has a considerably higher pitch, almost sounding more like a zither or autoharp than a guitar. The instrument matches MaloneyΓÇÖs high, trembling vocals perfectly, especially on ΓÇ£Nightstand Drawer,ΓÇ¥ perhaps the most nakedly emotional song on the album (and thatΓÇÖs saying something).

Many singer-songwriters seem to be loved by a hardcore group of devotees but never truly break out. Rory Block, Barbara Kessler, Fiona Joyce, and dozens of others should be household names, but have never managed to break through. ThereΓÇÖs something about Maloney that says sheΓÇÖll fare different, and that weΓÇÖll be hearing much more from this astonishing young singer.