"Punk-folk" is a good description for Miranda Stone's music. This debut album is definitely a hyper type of folk music. Stone's edgy, yet pleasingly silky, voice commands attention from the first song to the last by jumping to center stage in front of rhythmic guitar licks and mingling with complex, non-traditional percussion. Back this up with the eclectic sounds of the mandolin, violin, Spanish guitar, cello, organ and electric guitar and you've got the unique driving-rhythm sound of her five-song album Brave.
Stone's strong yet subtle voice leads the tempo and direction of the music. It hits peaks in deeply felt lyrics and quiets for her most tender words. The poetic and provocative lyrics "You darted round the truth like a whacked out bow and arrow" ("Nevertheless the Dog") and "Sometimes I'm scared I've let my love turn selfish and unkind" ("Silverlined") expose the full range of toughness to tenderness in her lyrics. Other songs give a glance at the romance that she says began in her poetry at age 16 as a release for her unrequited love. Lyrics like "I'm stubborn and hard, it must be true" ("Growing Old") express her authenticity and transparency. All around, every song on her EP is a winner, and thus the other two songs "Thorn in Your Hand" and "Don't You Cry Out" are both worthy of mention for, again, Stone's vocal gymnastics and truly unique instrumentation on each. Overall, Brave is a real gem for any collection of eclectic folk-rock. It's freely written without the restraint and boundaries typical in much of today's Christian music, and a passionate album that portrays Stone as a take-me-as-I-am person, leaving the listener with a feeling of closeness to Stone and an identification with her humanity and flaws.
If there are any weaknesses in this album, it might be its short length and its occasionally too-slow tempo. Stone really wants to rock-out on all her songs and needs to go with that. Obviously every song can't break out the "Nevertheless the Dog" energy just for the sake of keeping that song unique. Yet, Stone should concentrate more on using her main attraction--her edgy yet silky voice--by singing fewer ballad tempos (i.e., "Silverlined" and "Don't You Cry Out") and chunking out more of her hypnotizing guitar rhythms. In short, she should break a few more guitar strings.
This 23-year-old Canadian musician has only begun to show her talents and you can expect more greatness from a full length album. Her independently released freshman EP is impressive, intelligent, and one of the most creative and unique albums to come out of the Christian music woodwork for a long time. That, coupled with its progressive, modern and current sound, makes it one of the few albums worth every bit of a whopping 5-tock rating.
5 tocks
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 1999Reviewed by Dave LandselIt was that kind of thing where you had to know a friend of a friend of a friend, or you wouldn't have known about it -- we're talking about the "Brave Little Tour," in which the talented Miranda Stone, singer/songwriter from the shores of Lake Ontario, breezed into town to introduce her talents to patrons of Chicago's bookstores and coffeehouses, to no small effect, this last February. Her…The Phantom Tollbooth 1999Reviewed by Steven S. BaldwinBefore this past Christmas, a friend of mine conscious of his budget asked his newly-wedded wife whether she wanted an ample quantity of little presents this year under the pine tree or only one present of greater quality. She chose the latter, of course, supposing that he meant something small, tasteful and expensive. Her decision was not only motivated by the female sex's nearly universal…The Phantom Tollbooth 1999Reviewed by James StewartMiranda Stone studied book illustration at university and she's obviously carried many of those skills into her music. The songs are beautifully illustrated stories of life, underwritten with music which mixes a folk sensibility with a little punk attitude. 4 tocksSimilar sounding releases
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