Mary Lorson & Saint Low ‎– Tricks For Dawn (2002)

Mary Lorson and her project Saint Low get intimate on their second album, Tricks for Dawn, and this time around Lorson is much more sweet and comfortable. She's coming into her own as a singer/songwriter and casts a sophisticated beauty similar to the likes of Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly. Tricks for Dawn combines threads of jazzy grooves and intricate indie rock, and Lorson's airy vocals exude a sincerity on tracks like "Anything Can Happen" and "Friends, I Have Been Drinking." "Morningless Dreamer" floats over layered horn and woodwind arrangements, and Lorson's budding confidence captures pop music at a classy level. She's conscious of an old, dark romance on "Blast Off," and the dream pop earthiness is refreshing. She's a lovesucker on "Long Way Down," a piano-driven, lovelorn melody featuring Evan Dando on guitar, but "Accelerate" shimmies in pure Madder Rose style. Tricks for Dawn is a poetic soundscape and it's solid. Mary Lorson finds a comfort zone within the multiple dimensions of love, and it's uniquely charming.