Q-Music: Looking over the overlooked

By Gregg Shapiro

Rachael Yamagata and Keren Ann (Zeidel) have more in common than just being singer/songwriters at the back end of the alphabet. They are both gifted artists who put in time on major labels in the early 2000s and have continued to put out music independently. If you lived in Chicago (and possibly elsewhere) during the late 1990s, you probably came across the psychedelic funk of Bumpus, a band that featured Rachael Yamagata as a member and cosongwriter. Her distinctively smoky vocals gave the band a particular sizzle. Yamagata released a solo EP in 2003, and followed it with the gorgeous, and severely underrated full-length album “Happenstance” in 2004. Four years later, the doubledisc “Elephants… Teeth Sinking Into Heart” found Yamagata moving in a more experimental

direction, and she released a few other indie records in the 2010s. “Starlit Alchemy” (Jullian) is

Yamagata’s first new studio album In nearly 10 years. Citing influences including Joni Mitchell (the

intimacy of “Blue Jay”), Tom Waits (the lyrics in “Birds”), Rickie Lee Jones (listen to the piano on“Backwards”), and Hans Zimmer (the cinematic scope of “Heaven Help”), Yamagata puts her

talent for creating emotional (read: sad) songs on full display. She then successfully combines all the influences on “Somebody Like Me.” [Rachael Yamagata performs on 10/23 in Chicago at

City Winery.] Keren Ann, a multilingual performer currently based in Paris (!), released

three exceptional English language albums between 2003 and 2007 that never reached

the audience they deserved. She teamed up with Icelandic musician Barði Jóhannsson to become Lady & Bird for the duo’s eponymous in 2006 album, featuring original songs and covers of The Velvet Underground’s “Stephanie Says,” as well as the “M*A*S*H” theme song “Suicide is Painless. Additionally, six of her songs were included in gay filmmaker Eytan Fox’s extraordinary 2012 movie

“Yossi,” a sequel to Fox’s “Yossi & Jagger.” Her new album, “Paris Amour” (Bring Back Music), is

performed almost entirely en français (with the exception of a few lines in English in “Le Musique A

Fond”). The good news is that you don’t have to speak the language to enjoy the listening experience. For example, it doesn’t take a native speaker to hear the affection emanating from the modern pop of

the title track. Cinematic numbers such as “Les Désirs Fatigués Des Navires d’Argent” and “L’Expérience

Étrange de L’Inégal,” will no doubt conjure images of Catherine Deneuve and Jean-Paul Belmondo to many listeners. “Que La Vie Est Belle” and “L’Écho des Tirs” are also standouts.

Rachael Yamagata Photo By Laura Crosta