Alexandra Day- Vocals, Piano
These musicians grace my songs with their skills: Monica McIntyre- Cello,
Kevin Hanson- Guitar, Mike Kennedy- Guitar,
Ken Pendergast- Bass, Leon Boykins- Bass,
Chuck Staab- Drums, Justin Leigh- Drums
Alicia Keys
Bonnie Raitt
Box Five
Ella Fitzgerald
Erykah Badu
Eva Cassidy
Fiona Apple
Jeff Buckley
Joni Mitchell
Over the Rhine
Patti Griffin
Paula Cole
Radiohead
Rufus Wainwright
Stevie Wonder
"D.C.-born and Maryland-raised Alexandra Day has a musical resume that includes a classical voice degree, three years singing in a wedding band, more than a decade of piano lessons, and a continual flirtation with jazz. Each informs her current work as a piano-playing singer/songwriter, all wafting like smoke through her new album No Castles No Moats.
The jazz influence can be heard in the album’s opening seconds, in the curt, insistent repetition of piano and percussion. Day’s lyrics rely on repetition just as much, returning to a phrase or theme over and over, as if examining it from different angles. Her voice, meanwhile, is a sultry yet versatile thing, hinting at Fiona Apple and Jolie Holland but usually striking off on its own.
She’s admirably moody as songwriters go, pairing a cello-soaked weeper like “Under the Bridge” with the spunky country of “Tofu Song,” a two-minute ode to barbecuing fake meat. Backed by a revolving cast of musicians, other songs touch on classical or R&B (“I Want You to Be My Love” has both), and “Walls” is a leering set piece that’s ideal for Day’s emotional assaying.
Day has a penchant for summoning bygone times, and not just with her mastery of torch songs and baroque flourishes. She sings of “a cloud of yellowed memories” in the same breath as she commands “leave those dinosaur bones alone,” and she mentions a phrase you don’t hear much these days—“shanty towns”—in both “You Won’t Be the Fool” and the closing “I’ve Been Wrong Before.”
The latter is perhaps her most ambitious song, a six-minute opus that begins in a whisper and gradually climbs to a heavenly swoon in its final minute as Day offers, “Maybe we’ll start anew.” Whether she’s addressing herself or someone else is anyone’s guess."
-Doug Wallen, Philadelphia Weekly
Click here to order your copy from CDBaby.com.
Click here to download the album.
Come join us Friday May 15th @ 9:00 PM @ Club Risque! All Out Friday Night featuring Dive, Even The Res, and Spy The Thinker - $10 gets you into the show upstairs and the gentleman's club downstairs. For updates check www.myspace.com/risquelive.
thank u alex :) wonderful compositions and such a deep feeling voice u have. it's perfect with your piano. do stay in touch and i will be listening :) marina
hey alex! yes i did go to messiah. we were in jazz singers together. maybe i'll stop by on saturday. it's right down the street! good to hear from you!
Wow! Check the line up for your show at SUBA! It's gonna be a super hot night for sure! See ya soon. Call if you need anything. What time are you arriving to set up?
