Ordinary Days

Album Review

Everyone has an album in their collection that they save for a rainy Sunday, an unobtrusive, slightly melancholy book of a record to organize closets and sift through old desk drawers to. Singer/songwriter Lisa Cerbone's Ordinary Days is like a cigarette on an overcast afternoon. Beginning with the phrase "Aimless and tired," from the wonderful opener "Swallowing Stones," she skillfully navigates the heart and soul with a keen eye for detail and a gift for melody. Her tiny voice conveys huge emotion on the poignant "Sweep Your Hair From Your Eyes" and the dreamy "Beautiful Mess." Producer and Red House Painter Mark Kozelek has given Cerbone a lot of room to play with and she's tastefully chosen to keep things simple, knowing full well that these delicate songs would break under the weight of any heavy production. Kozelek fills in the empty spaces sparingly, decorating each room with swift brush strokes of feedback and warm fingerpicking. The dual lead guitars that snake through the nostalgic "Mrs. Foster" showcase his restraint and respect for the intimacy of Cerbone's reflective writing style. The real magic happens when the two of them sing. Like fellow indie darlings Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Cerbone and Kozelek blend like peanut butter and jelly, often indistinguishable in their cadences like the last few crackles of an October bonfire.