REVIEW: Brenda Weiler, Trickle Down (Barking Dog)
- Paul Hanson
In this pitiful era of dime a dozen female solo acts, Natalie Imbruglia being the latest with chart success for her single/video "Torn," it's refreshing to these ears to finally hear a soul-driven vocalist strumming an acoustic guitar that demands you listen. Brenda Weiler is the breath of fresh air pop music needs to inhale again and again.
Her release Trickle Down is brilliant. Many of the songs here are just Weiler strumming her acoustic guitar and providing soulful and soul-searching vocals. In "Drag," for example, Weiler sings, "You can play the fool/ You can try to keep score/ But if you wrestle with the devil, you can fight your own war." Her lyrics also search the plains of the human psyche, questioning religion. In "Tight," she sings, 'Jesus, can you come?' or will you make me do/ all those things that I shouldn't do." Later, she sings, "Who ever got the idea that beauty is right?/ That my butt and belly are meant to be tight/ cause I think what we have here is fucking insane/ and I don't care what my hair looks like after the rain."
Confrontational with powerful lyrics and an even stronger acoustic guitar strum, Weiler deserves, like few other female solo artists, wide-spread success and national prominence. Madonna is 40; Weiler looks and sounds like she has 40 more years of wisdom and maturity to flow through her compelling voice.
For more information on Brenda Weiler, check out the label's website at http://www.barkingdogrecords.com
