A female lead vocalist playing piano - the first associations are obvious, but quite far from reality. Boneyard Beach is the first full length release of Dish, a four piece band based in Raleigh, N.C. Band leader Dana Kletter had a classical piano education, and was formerly in a band called Blackgirls. When she says: "Alternative music, especially, tends to be about making things ugly-sounding. I have a different way of thinking about that" this gives a good idea about what to expect.
The essential parts of most tracks are Kletter's beautiful, clean voice and Bo Taylor's slowly whining guitar, the piano is only leading in few tracks. Most songs are slow and melodic, the most catchy ones are "How Could Anyone" and "January Song", which are potential singles. They are contrasted by some rawer songs, like a punkish version of The Band's "Tears of Rage".
There's no outstanding feature that would make this record a milestone in musical history. But it has lots of quality, from the songwriting to the performance. You could put it into the "easy listenable alternative" category, some people prefer the terrible term "adult contemporary". Looking at the chart success of comparable bands, this might well sell many copies if it gets good marketing. It's certainly a good deal more interesting than the Cranberries.
