Karen Rockower's Whales Standing

The thought of solo artists scare me to death because nine times out of ten, these artists are a bunch of boring folkies with an acoustic guitar in their left hand and a broken heart in their right. I have to admit that when Karen Rockower's disc came across my desk my heart went into immediate palpitations but then I listened to her record and my fears, my anxiety, my trips to the doctor all receded. Rockower, is so far from a normal singer songwriter, solo artist, bringer of the bore that she's practically in a class all by herself. If ever there was anyone who was full of wit, whimsy, and a childlike sense of wonder, Karen Rockower would be that person. Her album, Whales Standing is a curiously bizarre and beautifully quirky record that takes the solo artist template, crumbles it up, and sets it on fire.

Whales Standing is like listening to a Kristen Hersh, Throwing Muses, Stina Nordenstam, Juliana Hatfield mega collaboration. Karen Rockower channels her inner five year old and comes out sounding strange and haunting but in a completely innocent kind of way. Her voice soars at all the appropriate times and cringes at others...if ever a record was sweetly disturbing this would be it. Whales Standing as a result of her unique sound and voice is an imaginative record that's stirringly cool pop. From the youthful ramblings of, "Evelyn," to the gloomy sounding title track Rockower allows her voice and an idea to parade around a bit before she bottles them back up and keeps them to herself.

It's truly cool to hear someone that comes from the complete opposite direction of what you were expecting and that's exactly what Karen Rockower has done with Whales Standing. From sounding like a long lost Frente b-side to channeling her inner demons, Rockower clearly is one creative and imaginative songwriter. Between her and her backing band they come up with some very original tunes on Whales Standing that allow the record to take two steps in front of the rest of the singer songwriter crowd. Whimsical and out of step from the norm, Karen Rockower is a joy to listen to with Whales Standing being thoroughly enjoyable and one of the more original records I've heard from a genre often bogged down by cliché.