Rebecca Zapen - Nest (2011)

Tracklist

01. Beautiful Love Songs Without the Love
02. Peace
03. Ledge
04. Swamp Pit
05. Lakewood
06. I'm Gonna Make So Many Things For You
07. 888
08. Tiny and Strong
09. You Did Me Wrong
10. Grandfather's Song
11. Jacaranda
12. Addicted to Love
13. Colorado

Rebecca Zapen has been releasing music under the “Bashert” label since her 2003 debut. In Yiddish, bashert means soulmate, or perfect match. A few albums later, and Zapen’s not only built a nest with the perfect guy, but there’s a baby. Thence comes some of the inspiration for this cozy cabin (the kind with a fire crackling away in the grate) of sounds. The heavenly waltz of “Peace” is at the heart of Nest. It’s like Bashert’s a descendant of the Mary Hopkins (via Paul McCartney) and Sandy Denny lines of beautiful, oft-vintage-inspired sounds. There’s a sense of arcane, jazzy pop; fifties romanticism, classical music, and Yiddish and other folk traditions; a bowl of ingredients from which Zapen intuitively ladles the right elements for her evocative compositions. Zapen’s buttercream-smooth voice and classic treatments create cohesion in a set spiced by Celtic folk and Latin jazz. And while contemporary chanteuses are often compared with A.Camp, Zapen’s merging of melody, keys, and vocals are at the top of any such comparison heap with “Lakewood” and “You Did Me Wrong.” For an all-original (save a bossa-nova treatment of “Addicted to Love”) collection; Nest is something of a miracle. Years of playing and learning come together in a place where everything feels bashert.

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