Sarah Fimm - A Perfect Dream

I have to admit that I decided to pick Sarah Fimm's A Perfect Dream to review first from my passel of new albums to review for this month (whew!) for the following reasons: (1) Press kit with dream-catcher- neat, (2) she thanks Tool, Jerry Cantrell, Carl Sagan, and Tenacious D in her liner notes, (3) her press says she sounds like Tori Amos. So, now that you know that my favoritism ability to be pleased is so simple, here's why YOU should give the album a listen. Sexy vocals, sensual production, smart lyrics, fearlessness. This is Sarah MacLaughlan on nails, Tori Amos before motherhood with less religious imagery. Sarah Fimm is an intelligent, thoughtful musician who has made an album equal to her appeal- She's simply great to listen to. She has a quick rag-time interlude ("Spit Trap Ghetto"), but other than that, she sticks to atmosphere and carnality and all sorts of things that I'm always glad to hear women say. Honest to a fault and not vulnerable to her own lyrical tales, this artist is able to create a wonderful psychic playground that simultaneously shows off her voice, her depth, and her musical ability. She's good she's good she's good- And I'm not that easy to impress. From the Lovage-esque "Lioness" to the haunting "Shadows and Dust", Fimm is her own person who is not prey to the anxiety of influence- Only drawback? The odd off-key moment in "Virus", where the crash is less so. But don't let an eighth of a second deter you- You owe it to yourself to take part in Sarah Fimm's dreamscape, as it's a beautiful place to be. [www.sarahfimm.com]